A Tale of Love
by Younger P
Summary: A mishap against Team Flare and the ultimate weapon sends Ash and Pikachu five years into the future with no memory of who they are, where they came from, and what their purpose was. How much has the world changed since their alleged disappearance? AmourShipping, AbilityShipping, true pairing TBD. Plot inspired by Super Paper Mario.
1. P-1) A Timely Encounter!

_The Kalos region…_

_A faraway land filled with rich history and fantasy beyond one's imagination. How could that be so, you may wonder? It just so happened that three-thousand years ago, there lived king who loved a Pokémon dearly. A restless war went on during that time, in which that Pokémon took part of, but didn't return alive. _

_Out of grief and vengeance, this king built what was known as the ultimate weapon, bringing his fallen Pokémon back to life and wiping out the people and Pokémon involved in the brutal war. The king ultimately became remorseful over his actions once his resurrected Pokémon, disgusted by his actions, left him alone to wonder about aimlessly in this world._

_Yes, such kinds of tragedies are rather common in this present day, though not to the extreme as the three-thousand-year-old king's case. This tale passes on generation by generation to remember the mistakes of forefathers. It just so happens that there is this one tale that nearly mimicked that of the king and the ultimate weapon. _

_This is the latest tale of Kalos history repeating itself._

_It was just simply another tale of love…_

* * *

"They're not going to get away with this!"

These words were part of Ash's last bold declaration as he charged into the heart of the Team Flare Secret HQ. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie tended to Alain and his Charizard after defeating him and making him realize his boss's true intentions for Kalos and the entire world.

Mairin and Chespie, her Chespin, stood off to the side, exhaustingly thankful that those four people were able to bring Alain back to his senses. She never would've imagined such a mess would ever come from involving herself in his affairs, especially when it led up to the level of Team Flare. She just wanted to learn how to Mega Evolve, and have Alain sardonically correct her that Pokémon evolve, not people.

The younger Trainer then turned her thoughts to Ash, the one who brought some sense back to her older stoic friend. He and his Pokémon immediately rushed to handle Lysandre in the chamber where Yveltal was being held in before any of his friends could have a say on the matter. That honey-blonde-haired girl, in particular, harbored the most disdain on the action, but Mairin saw that she couldn't stop him.

"He should be alright," Clemont announced after checking Alain's condition. The older Trainer was on his knees, unmoving as though he was in a comatose state. "A bit shaken up from the battle and accepting the truth behind Lysandre would be rough to take in, but he's strong. He'll pull though in the end."

"Thank goodness," Bonnie sighed in relief along with Dedenne. "That Mega Charizard was a toughie! I'd want to master a power like Mega Evolution one day too, just not like this."

"Guys, we have to go after Ash," Serena interrupted, her voice firm and unwavering. Clemont and Bonnie looked at her, astounded by how she spoke. "He's alone with Team Flare's Leader and the living embodiment of death and destruction. What kind of friends are we to let him deal with this by himself?!"

"It's only been a few minutes, I doubt he's gotten in that much trouble," Clemont brought up thoughtfully.

"But this is Lysandre and Yveltal we're talking about, Big Brother!" Bonnie exclaimed. "They're too dangerous to leave Ash alone with!"

"Which is why we have to go now," Serena continued, glancing determinedly towards the pathway where Ash took off. "I believe in Ash too, but this is life or death now. We can't be reckless."

"But who's going to watch over Alain?" Clemont proposed in concern for the older young man. "We can't just leave him the way he is now."

"I'll take care of him," Mairin spoke aloud as she approached the group, deciding it was her turn to take charge. "Go after your friend so that he doesn't end up like my friend."

Worried about those final warning words, Serena gave a curt but grateful nod to the young girl before running down the hallway as fast as her legs would allow her, followed by the eager Bonnie on her trail. Clemont sighed at the thought of more running, but his desire to come to Ash's aid was greater than his aversion towards strenuous physical activity.

"Thank you very much," Clemont said quickly with a bow before taking off chasing after the two girls.

Mairin and Chespie watched as the Lumiose City Gym Leader's figure disappeared into the dark hall leading down to where Lysandre and Ash were waiting. A few authorities, which included Officer Jenny and a couple of Interpol agents, and even the weird trio known as Team Rocket were already taking down several Team Flare members outside of their location. If she hurried, she might be able to get everything to stop once and for all. She might actually be able to redeem herself and Alain.

"Chespie, stay here with Alain," Mairin commanded, turning towards a different exit. "I'm going to get help."

* * *

_At the meantime…_

"You're not getting away with this!" Ash declared. "I'm putting a stop to this ultimate weapon!"

He and his current Pokémon team were facing down Lysandre, who only had Pyroar at his side. The room they were in was rumbling in rhythmic pulsations that originated from the energy being garnered from Yveltal's cocoon form. The pulsing was gradually becoming more and more intense with passing time.

"You cannot stop a force like life or death from performing their duties, young man," Lysandre began. "All this destruction is necessary in order for this world to be reborn from this awful state. Beauty and perfection are at hand."

"Nothing in this world will ever be perfect," Ash retorted. "That is why we have to accept the things they are and see the beauty within."

"Such an imperfect mind, but it doesn't matter," Lysandre sighed in regret. "It really is a pity. You would've been ideal in the new, beautiful world, but sadly, your human nature has ultimately defiled you."

"I happen to _like_ who I am," Ash refuted. "My human nature _is_ who I am. Nothing will ever change me! I'll never give up until the end!"

He was followed up by the cheers of his loyal Pokémon, each sharing his belief about the nature of people and Pokémon alike. None of them were perfect, but the fact that they worked together conquering Gym battles and other problems was proof enough that they were capable of overcoming their weaknesses with help from their friends.

"Such innocence… such naïveté," Lysandre commented. "It's starting to vex me. So, young man, if you're so content in your imperfection, why don't you have a taste of the ultimate weapon?" The Team Flare Boss held up a remote control with a prominent red button. "The ultimate weapon, though not fully charged enough to wipe out the Kalos region and the whole world, has more than enough energy to dispose of you and your Pokémon."

"You're out of your mind!" Ash exclaimed in outrage. "If you're going to target me, you'll also destroy yourself and everyone else still here."

"They'll all be annihilated regardless," Lysandre concluded darkly, critically placing his thumb on the button. "Let's see you try and stop perfection!"

"No!"

From a mighty wave of Ash's arm signaled an all-out attack from his team to stop Lysandre. Pikachu led the front with a Thunderbolt, only to be countered by Pyroar's powerful Flamethrower. The roaring flames were potent enough to slowly push back Pikachu's electrical attack, but what Pyroar did not prepare for was a combined assault from Ash's other Pokémon from the side.

It took a quick Water Pulse from Frogadier to disorient the Royal Pokémon before the others ambushed him. While Pyroar was a formidable asset alone under Lysandre's belt, he met his match in dealing with Ash's other Pokémon, who were proving to be able to keep up with his power and speed. At the meantime, Pikachu had resumed attacking the main control panel in charge of transferring energy between Yveltal and the ultimate weapon. The Thunderbolt made the machine short-circuit, eliciting a heavy explosion.

"This can't be," Lysandre growled under his breath, frustrated at himself for not taking the young Trainer standing before him more seriously. His vision for a beautiful world was now being compromised. "Argh!"

"Master Lysandre, bad news!" the sole male Flare admin scientist, Xerosic, called out upon entering the chamber. "Pikachu's attack destroyed a crystal shard that queued Yveltal's energy during the energy transfer process. It was also at a very vulnerable location too. Without it, the leaking death energy will cause our machines to blow up!"

"Then use the spare shard from that orb we recently discovered," Lysandre ordered.

"But we haven't tested out the orb's properties enough to deem it safe and reliable," Xerosic reasoned. "The aftereffects could very well be disastrous!"

"I don't care!" Lysandre roared. "I won't have all this work go to waste! This world _will_ be reborn… one way or another."

Xerosic still appeared hesitant towards his leader's decision before relenting with a submissive bow and backing away to retrieve the mysterious shard. Lysandre resumed his attention back upon Ash, wordlessly commanding his Pyroar to knock aside the opposing Pokémon, to which his Pokémon promptly did so with a single Flamethrower.

Ash's team were sent scattering across the room, bearing bruises and burn marks from the latest attack. Pikachu was also unable to get away on time, having been sent flying back to Ash. The Pallet Town Trainer caught his long-time buddy and carefully cradled him in his arms.

"His Pyroar is too strong," Ash commented begrudgingly. "Alain and his Mega Charizard were tough, but this is insane."

"Ash!" a familiar, approaching voice pleaded. "Don't give up! It's not the end just yet!"

"She's right, Ash!" another friendly voice reminded.

"We're with you all the way, Ash!" a childish squeal echoed.

Ash had a moment of speechlessness as he turned back to the entrance he came into the chamber from, seeing Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie enter in with equally determined expressions. He gave a sigh of relief seeing his friends again and in one piece.

"You guys…," Ash chuckled wistfully.

"All of you blemishes of the world coming together like this makes my work easier," Lysandre interrupted as Xerosic successfully repaired the damaged containment unit upon replacing the destroyed crystal share with the new mysterious shard. He then pressed down hard on the remote control button. "Now die."

The machinery around Yveltal's containment started to whir ominously in tandem to the energy pulsations. The dark aura of death emanated from every device channeling its power. Using the ultimate weapon as the main conduit, Lysandre made it so that a sufficient amount of death energy was focused upon his intended target only.

The focal point of the ultimate weapon in Geosenge Town took aim…

And by sophisticated design, it unleashed a narrow beam of destruction in its intend direction, which was none other than the heart of the Team Flare Secret HQ.

Right exactly where Ash stood…

The death beam burrowed into the chamber, much to everyone's shock, sans Lysandre. Not ready to give up without a fight, Pikachu immediately leapt out of Ash's arms and sent a powerful Thunderbolt to retaliate. The collision of energies made the area more precarious as neither side was about to give way to the other.

"_Ash,_ _get out of there!_" Serena screamed almost hysterically, attempting to run in and snatch him before Clemont held her back by her arm. "Let me go!"

"It's too dangerous!" Clemont argued.

Serena continued to struggle, surprised that Clemont had enough strength to hold her back despite of all of her thrashing about. She watched helplessly as Ash stayed by Pikachu's side as he still attempted to hold off the ultimate weapon's blast. Clemont felt no better about this, but he had to consider the safety of his sister and his friend first. Bonnie, despite having been very vocal on Ash's triumph earlier, was now watching in apprehensive silence. The three of them now hoped that Ash would be able to overcome the odds and come out of this alive.

"No… please…"

Ash's other Pokémon also attempted to plead to him and Pikachu to get out of there despite being wounded from their fight with Pyroar. They hated being useless as their beloved Trainer was practically risking his life for theirs. That was just who Ash was, and for that, they had promised their eternal loyalty to him. They struggled to get off their backs and sides, to reach back and protect their Trainer like they were supposed to.

"It truly is a pity to waste a young, potentially beautiful life like yours," Lysandre muttered, penitently looking away as he snapped his fingers.

Pyroar then sent his additional onslaught in the form of another Flamethrower. As Pikachu was still preoccupied in keeping the ultimate weapon's death beam at bay, there was no way that the Mouse Pokémon would also fend off his attack as well.

However, he did not expect the boy to step in and take the Flamethrower head on.

"Ash, please stop!" Serena cried, disregarding the distraught tears that had shed themselves out of the corners of her blue eyes. "This is reckless! Don't do this to yourself! Don't do this… to us… to me… …"

"I'll protect you all no matter what…!" Ash grunted, fighting through the flames. "… This is my promise to you… my friends…"

"Ash!" Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie shouted, instantly running towards him.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out, noticing his Trainer being fried by Pyroar's Flamethrower.

That moment of fleeting attention had cost Pikachu the battle against the ultimate weapon as the death beam pushed through the Thunderbolt and resumed its destructive course. Ash quickly picked up on the direness of their situation, pushing himself out of the Flamethrower to sweep up Pikachu, even as the Mouse Pokémon was still engaged in his Thunderbolt.

Ash didn't care what happened to him. He wasn't going to let Pikachu take on the ultimate weapon alone.

"ASH!" his friends yelled once more, accompanied by the cries of his other Pokémon.

_*BOOM*_

They were too late as the beam of the ultimate weapon had reached Ash and Pikachu before they could. The aftershocks of the blast strangely passed through them somewhat harmlessly, as if it was nothing more than a strong gust of wind. Once the energy had cleared up, not a trace of Ash or Pikachu was seen. Not even a radius of scorch marks where the blast concluded was there.

The duo was gone.

Clemont stared blankly, unable to comprehend what just happened. Bonnie and Dedenne immediately wailed after registering the tragic event in their young minds, clinging onto Clemont as they were unable to bear the sight of their friend being wiped out just like that.

As for Serena, she slowly fell on her knees as salty tears streamed down unconsciously. She stared ahead at the empty spot where the Pallet Town Trainer and his Mouse Pokémon originally stood. She couldn't help him. After everything he had done for her and their friends, she couldn't return any favor to him. Some friend she turned out to be. She couldn't even bring herself in sharing how she truly felt about him after all this time traveling with him around the Kalos region.

And he was gone, just like that. In an instant.

Serena lost her chance and now, she feared that she never will get another chance.

"… Ash… he can't… be gone…"

* * *

_Elsewhere… _

"… … Ugh… … My head… …"

"You're finally waking up, Ash," a soft voice said.

"… … … Huh?"

His eyelids slowly opened up, adjusting to the light shining against them. Though the light, he distinguished a face of a girl with lilac-colored eyes and hair to match. She appeared to be in her early young adult years. He also discovered himself lying on his back upon something soft. There was something even softer placed near his head. From the corner of his eye after attempting to move his head, he saw something yellow.

"Take it easy, Ash," the young woman spoke up. "You and Pikachu were in really bad shape when I found you two outside my home a while ago. I was really worried after what the news shared years ago about you."

"… Pika… chu?" he mumbled, confused.

"That's right," the woman affirmed with a sweet smile. "I'm surprised, though. Not only do you appear okay now, you look like you haven't age since we last saw each other, not to say that it's a bad thing. You are still one-of-a-kind, Ash."

"… 'Ash'?" he repeated. "… That's my name…? … Really?"

"Oh, my…"

He didn't know what to make from the woman's sudden horrified expression from his peculiar response. She attempted to get him to lay his head back down, but he regained enough strength to be fully conscious and sit up to face her. He noticed how slender her body shape and how elegant her style of dress were, causing the woman to inadvertently blush upon discovering his prolonged staring. He soon snapped out of the distraction upon remembering what he was about to.

"… I'm sorry, but… who are you? What's going on? And where am I?"

* * *

**It is as I promised from my profile page that I'm now starting this project regardless of the status of my other stories. I was just too eager to get this out. So am I an idiot for starting up something planned to be big when I already have another big story to work on? Probably, but aren't we all idiots in certain ways? I guess I'll just have to be able to balance them now. Fortunately, I'll be a bit freer this summer, so aside from work and other social activities, I'll be around more often to write and such for you readers.**

**For those who have played **_**Super Paper Mario**_** or at least are aware of its main plot, you might understand what's about to happen here. And for those that don't, I still hope you'll enjoy the show. This might potentially become my next big thing after or along with **_**Revival at the Champions League**_**. I'm already eager on how this'll turn out since I also planned the general outline for this story prior to typing up the first chapter.**

**This story idea was actually inspired by my brother, so I'm giving him some credit here. And as for keeping Ash's team as ambiguous as it was, that's for the purpose to be able to adapt to what the anime will reveal in the future, such as captures, evolutions, (possible releases) and so on.**

**So how did I do with this prologue? Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	2. P-2) Out of Temporal Place!

"… I'm sorry, but… who are you? What's going on? And where am I?"

Neither one had said or moved since the boy named Ash proposed his question. The young woman couldn't believe what she was witnessing now, but she had to stay calm for her sake and for Ash's. Lowering her hands away from her mouth and back upon her lap, she took a deep breath and prepared to give a short and sufficient explanation for her amnesiac guest.

"To answer your questions in order, my name is Anabel," she began. "As to what's going on, I found you and Pikachu out cold near my little cottage just a while ago. I originally feared the worst upon discovering you in my backward, but it turned out that you were still alive. You two were out for a few days. And where we are right now, we're in Tohjo Falls of the Kanto region."

"I see," Ash accepted calmly, giving her another inquiring look. "How do you know me? And who is Pikachu?"

"Years ago, you challenged me in the Battle Tower and won after your second try," Anabel explained. "As for Pikachu, he's been your best friend since you started your Pokémon journey… And it looks like he's about to wake up as well."

As if on cue, the little yellow creature that was asleep by Ash's head was stirring awake. His ears twitched involuntarily, sensing the current surroundings. His eyes fluttered opened after a big yawn, catching two humans in his line of sight as the first thing. One was a young boy with dark cyan hair, brown eyes, and small peculiar zigzag facial markings on his cheeks. The other was an older girl with lilac hair that was reaching down her shoulders with matching lilac eyes.

"Pii!" Pikachu grunted, shifting into a defensive position.

"Pikachu, wait!" Anabel called out, sensing uneasiness from the little Pokémon. "We're all friends here."

"… Pika?" Pikachu mumbled, not dropping his weary stance.

She continued to look him in the eye, not attempting to hide any form of deception or threat in her lilac eyes. This girl appeared to be sincere and somehow was able to understand him, which would be helpful. He didn't know where he was or who that boy next to her was supposed to be. Was he her brother? Mate? Or maybe just a friend? Regardless, he seemed to be just as trustworthy as the girl if not a bit naïve.

"You can trust us, Pikachu," Anabel assured, kneeling down to where the Mouse Pokémon was to maintain eye level. She started to pet him without caution, much to Pikachu's comfort. He visibly relaxed under her touch. "We're here to help."

"You seem to know how Pokémon feel, Anabel," Ash commented.

"It's just a unique gift I had since I was a little girl," Anabel explained as she continued petting Pikachu. "Last time I told you about this, you and Pikachu were the best of friends. You don't need to be an empath to see how obvious your bond was."

"Hmm, best friends with a Pokémon," Ash mused, also kneeling down to Pikachu's level. "I'd like that, especially if we were friends before. Do you want to give it a try, Pikachu? We don't have much else to do."

Anabel pulled her hand away to allow Pikachu to answer the presented question. He looked up at the boy with an inquiring look. As far as he would consider, he would normally avoid humans, but with his own memory loss at hand, he really did not have much of a choice. Moreover, he had more than a reason to actually trust these two humans in helping him out. And seeing as the boy was also suffering from memory loss, there must be some logical explanation to what had happened to them.

And so…

"Pika Pika-chu!" Pikachu affirmed, immediately leaping up on Ash's left shoulder.

The interaction seemed to have triggered a reaction from Ash as he suddenly clasped onto his head in pain before falling onto the sofa in front of him. His breathing was rather shallow and he struggled to control the involuntary spasms. Out of panic from the situation, Pikachu leapt back to his original spot on the sofa while Anabel quickly got to her feet.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Anabel asked.

"… Argh… M-My head," Ash groaned, beginning to breathe easier after a few seconds had passed. "… It felt like some weird headache."

"I wonder… … did that help you remember anything?"

"Uh… … Ugh… … No."

"Well, it was worth a shot."

The Salon Maiden had thought that the familiar physical contact with Pikachu would've triggered some of Ash's lost memories. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but it would help their case a lot more if he had some memories to start out with. After all, there was one very important thing she needed to let him know about. And Ash was about to give her that opportunity at explaining it.

"… Hey, Anabel?" Ash began, sitting into a more comfortable position. "You mentioned that you were worried when you thought we weren't alive when you found us. Do you know what could have happened to us?"

"The truth is… no one in this world thinks you're alive now, Ash," Anabel admitted hesitantly, prompting the predicted expressions of shock from the boy and Pikachu. She needed to continue before either one started asking questions. "You were considered dead since you went missing five years ago. You couldn't be found anywhere. I thought I found your lost body earlier today, but to my surprise, you and Pikachu are still alive. I don't know what happened to you two since then, but based from the photos the public showed when you were pronounced dead, you looked exactly the same as those photos."

_*Beat*_

"… We're… dead?!" Ash repeated, accompanied by an equally outraged Pikachu. "D-Does this mean we're…?"

"You're not on the 'other side', if that's what you're thinking," Anabel reassured. "You're still among the living. As a matter of fact, the last place you were reported alive before going missing was somewhere in the Kalos region. Like I said, you couldn't be found anywhere after getting into some great accident, so you were pronounced dead."

"The Kalos region?" Ash repeated curiously.

"Pii-ka," Pikachu mumbled, just as confused as his alleged best friend.

"I'd imagine you were traveling through the Kalos region to compete in its Pokémon League," Anabel surmised, eyes lighting up with inspiration. "That's it! That's our main clue right now."

"Clue for what?" Ash asked.

"We're going to retrace your steps in Kalos and figure out what happened to you and Pikachu," Anabel explained. "I should've asked, but do you have any Pokémon on you right now? Search your belt or pockets for something."

"Okay."

Ash carried out her request and found some Poké Balls hanging on his belt. He opened them up, but nothing came out of any of them, much to Anabel's disappointment. It seemed that Pikachu was the only one with him. He then searched his pockets and uncovered a slim red device hiding in his back pocket.

"That must be your Pokédex," Anabel deduced upon close inspection. "Not only does to analyze and record the information of Pokémon you meet, but it also serves as your official Trainer ID."

"That's pretty cool," Ash commented, fiddling with the device until the interface opened up.

The Pokédex revealed various options for Ash to explore. Upon touching certain things on its advanced holographic interface, the Pokédex revealed the Pokémon he had encountered in the Kalos region, which Pokémon had been under his ownership, and even his own personal information.

"According to this, I am 'Ash of Pallet Town' in the Kanto region," Ash read aloud of the presented information. He then pulled out a rather thin case that was cool to the touch with his other hand. "I wonder if this case has something to do with what I was doing before."

Opening the case up, he discovered one row of four uniquely designed Badges while the row below it had three Badges. There were seven of them in total. Ash looked more closely, wondering where they came from while Anabel began gathering her thoughts on the matter.

"Those must be your Badges from the Kalos region," Anabel spoke up. "I don't recognize them anywhere else and they definitely have that special quality Pokémon League Badges would have, so they must be."

"I guess your story really checks out, Anabel," Ash confirmed as he put away the Badge case. "I really was in Kalos after all. That means I need to go back there for answers then."

"Before you do, let's go to Pallet Town first," Anabel suggested. "I'm sure your family and other Pokémon miss you, and it'd probably do them good to see you alive."

"True, but it probably wouldn't help that I can't remember any of them right now," Ash brought up. "And if it really has been five years since I was claimed dead or disappeared, then who knows what kind of an effect I'll have by showing up out of nowhere."

"Good point," Anabel considered as an afterthought. "Well, I know that Professor Oak also lives in Pallet Town, and I'm pretty sure that the Pokémon you've caught from your journey should probably still be there. It'd be helpful to take at least one reliable Pokémon with you aside from Pikachu that'll help you through."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, and it might help me remember something," Ash mumbled thoughtfully. "Alright, I've decided. I'll do it!"

"Wonderful, Ash."

"But what are you going to do now, Anabel?"

"What do you mean? I'm going with you, of course."

"You sure that's okay with you? You've already done a lot for us as it is…"

"You still don't have your full memory back and I can't live with myself if something happens to you," Anabel admitted, turning away as a mild blush illuminated upon her face. "It was already bad you were gone five years ago. We don't need you to be gone for good _this_ time."

"You're right," Ash sighed. "I don't even know _where_ Pallet Town is. And that's supposed to be my home or something. How embarrassing…"

"It's no trouble at all," Anabel assured with a smile. "I just need to let my 'boss' know that I'll be unable to attend to my regular duties in the Battle Tower. I've accumulated a lot of vacation days anyway, so I doubt he'll have any objections about me going to Pallet Town and to Kalos."

"Kalos too? You're really being sweet on us, Anabel," Ash chuckled. "I'm really glad you were the one to find us. And I'm sure Pikachu agrees as well."

"Pi-ka, Pikapi," Pikachu answered affirmatively.

"Then it's settled," Anabel concluded eagerly. "Allow me to make arrangements with my boss and we should be able to leave by tomorrow morning for a fresh start."

"Great idea," Ash added resolutely before exchanging gazes with Pikachu. "We'll figure out who we really are in no time, Pikachu."

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu agreed.

"There's still a bit of time until eventide shines about Tohjo Falls," Anabel indicated. "You're welcome to get some fresh air, but don't wander too far. Remember your condition."

"Thanks, Anabel," Ash said, gesturing to Pikachu to climb back on his shoulder.

The amnesiac boy admittedly enjoyed that sensation. Pikachu was willing to oblige as he had done so before they went outside. Anabel saw them off with a fond smile before realizing her current task at hand. She didn't doubt that Scott wouldn't deny her request, but she should approach this situation as tactfully as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was make him think that she was hiding secrets from the Battle Frontier. But with Ash turning up five years later near her own backyard since was announced missing before being declared dead was too significant to simply pass off. He and Pikachu needed help, and with no one else knowing about this except for her, she was obligated to help her friend and secret crush figure out these mysteries.

Anabel never considered that this was going to be the start of a new, interesting adventure outside the Battle Tower.

* * *

**I've decided to have a total of nine arcs, this prologue arc included. They'll be composed of four chapters each, following the formatting of **_**Super Paper Mario**_** (more or less anyway). And as for Pikachu not being as rebellious or distrusting as in first episode, he lost his memories, not his character development, simply put. After all, he did suffer amnesia for an episode in the _Advanced Generation_ period (_A Scare to Remember_, I believe; a title like this is kind of easy to remember) and was friendly towards everyone, including Meowth, who was intentionally leading him astray.**

**Well, since I've already started this story, I can't just leave it behind now. I'll bear this responsibility along with another ongoing story.**

**Anyway, I also saw that incredible Lumiose Gym battle Ash had with Clemont. I could tell much effort was put into it, from the general strategies right down to the animation. Thought I ought to share it. **

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	3. P-3) Familiar Grounds!

The next day came about quicker than expected. With that, Anabel's promise of escorting Ash and Pikachu to Pallet Town was fulfilled accordingly. They left Tohjo Falls early in the morning in order to catch a boat ride to Vermillion City and make it there by noon. Anabel herself was fortunate not to have run into many people out of fear of attracting unwanted attention, either from her position in the Battle Frontier or the fact that Ash was back among the living despite never having actually died in the first place. As a side note, she even dressed in casual clothing to avoid immediate recognition from Trainers.

Anabel had a personal theory during the boat ride to Vermillion City that Ash and Pikachu were somehow misplaced in space and time, explaining how he appeared five years younger than her when they were more or less the same age. But she kept that theory to herself so that she wouldn't freak out her amnesiac friend more than he was right now. At the meantime, Ash and Pikachu enjoyed sightseeing, making it appear as though this was the first time they were traveling through the Kanto region.

Ironic, wasn't it?

But even if they had traveled Kanto ten times over, the great natural scenery Kanto had to offer would never cease to be amazing.

"Attention, passengers!" the voice of the captain rang over the ship intercom system. "We will arrive at Vermillion City within the next ten minutes or so. Gather only your belongings. We will not be held responsible for any item or possession left behind, lost, or stolen. Thank you for traveling with us and we hope you will consider choosing us again for future sea travels!"

"Well, that was fast," Ash commented, leaning on the rails as the ocean air blew through him. "I was really enjoying this boat ride."

"I'm sure we'll have many more where we'll be going," Anabel assured. "Let's wait until the majority of passengers leave first so that there will be few to notice us."

"I still don't understand why we're trying to hide though," Ash mumbled.

"We can't risk causing a scene if someone here recognizes you and thought that you were dead," Anabel explained. "Not unless we want to get to Pallet Town and then Kalos quickly."

"You're right," Ash sighed. "It's just a pain having to go undercover like a ninja or something, especially since there are people everywhere."

"Once we figure out your mystery, you're free to go and do as you please," Anabel offered. _Though if I'm right and you're out of place in time, then we need to find a way to return you back to your rightful period._

"That sounds fair," Ash concurred. "Thanks for your help again, Anabel. I would've totally gotten lost with all the sights here and there."

"The Kanto region is really beautiful," Anabel added. "I wonder what the Kalos region would be like."

They were able to hold onto their conversation as the passengers on board were leaving down the ramp in huge groups. Once a sparse amount of people were left walking down the ramp, Anabel took Ash along and quickly made their way down the ramp and onto the Vermillion docks. Vermillion City was not too bustling as a general city, but there were still plenty of people doing this and that around town.

"Do you know which way to Pallet Town?" Ash asked.

"I do, but we're going to have to cheat a bit," Anabel replied, pulling out a Poké Ball. "This definitely beats having to travel all the way there on foot. Come out, my friend!"

Her Poké Ball snapped open and Alakazam emerged out of the bright light. It dutifully looked up to its Trainer while Ash and Pikachu examined this bizarre-looking Pokémon from head to toe.

"Alah-ka," Alakazam murmured.

"I know you've seen them before, but remember that they lost their memories," Anabel explained to Psi Pokémon. "Now I need you to use Teleport to take us to Viridian City. Do you remember where it is and what it looks like?"

Alakazam nodded before closing its eyes and concentrating its telekinetic powers to transport itself, its Trainer, and her guests to their destination in one piece.

"I don't get it," Ash spoke up. "Why not just take us directly to Pallet Town?"

"It's because Alakazam and I never made it out that far," Anabel admitted. "We've gone as far as Viridian City and even Cinnabar Island, but we haven't actually visited Pallet Town. Plus, Alakazam can't teleport long distances with all of us together. If it was just me and Alakazam, then that would be possible. It takes a lot of energy and concentration in transporting more than one body, so this was as close as we can get for Teleport to work the way we wanted it to."

"Wow, I remember that Psychic Pokémon are really strong and all, but I never did get the mechanics behind all of their moves," Ash remarked with a shrug. "I guess better safe than sorry."

"Don't worry, Ash," Anabel reassured right as the Teleport was starting to take effect on their bodies. "Hopefully you and Pikachu will recover some memories when you visit Professor Oak and your old home again."

As there was no one paying any particular attention to them despite being in a public place, Anabel's Alakazam went on to teleport all four of them to Viridian City.

* * *

Everyone had made it into Viridian City intact. Their string of good luck was not broken yet. Anabel was good at blending in due to her modest and generally quiet personality, though even with their memories unavailable at the moment, Ash and Pikachu were still rather raucous by nature. It took some patience and plenty of guidance from the Salon Maiden to calm those two down during their trip towards Pallet Town.

There were wild Pokémon out and about in the fields of Route 1. Anabel had recommended to Ash and Pikachu on their battling combinations in the event they would have to engage in a Pokémon battle. Mostly Pidgey and Rattata lived in this area, so regaining the basics in battling wasn't too difficult. Although…

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Ash and Pikachu were quick to realize not only how much power Pikachu had from the start, but also how well synchronized they were in issuing out attacks and evasions. Most of the wild Pidgey quickly fled due to their innate weakness to Electric attacks and how powerful this Pikachu turned out to be. The Rattata also wound up following their examples and avoided the two humans with the Pikachu. Needless to say, training only lasted a few minutes due to time being of the essence.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised that you retained your aptitude in battling, Ash," Anabel commented lightheartedly. "It was also smart of you looking up Pikachu's attacks ahead of time, I noticed."

"You told me the Pokédex was capable of telling me what moves my Pokémon can have," Ash replied. "Since I didn't remember any of Pikachu's attacks, I thought it'd be useful to know what they were before you had us train. At least I wouldn't have made myself look like a total fool calling out random attacks that Pikachu may or may not have known."

"Pika Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"I'm impressed either way," Anabel concluded. "I think we can train tomorrow and hopefully I won't feel bad in not holding back."

"I don't expect you to," Ash said, grinning as he looked ahead. "Hey, Anabel, is that Pallet Town ahead?"

True to his inquiry, the small and quaint town below the hills was indeed Pallet Town. Seeing the optimistic expression on her face was all the confirmation Ash needed. Out of excitement, the both of them raced down to reach Pallet Town, eager to continue their current objective as quickly as possible.

The town itself was overall quiet. There were very few townspeople out and most of them were minding their own business. However, as Ash and Anabel were walking down the dirt road towards the center, a few of them had lifted their heads up to see who their latest visitors were.

Apparently, a smaller town would suggest a bigger chance in standing out, especially if one of the visitors happened to live said small town before.

"… Anabel?" Ash spoke up quietly. "We're getting stared at."

"Just play it cool until we find Professor Oak's lab," Anabel whispered back, facing straight ahead in order to avoid direct eye contact from the prying Pallet Town citizens. "They're probably wondering how and why you came back."

"Now I'm worried," Ash admitted a bit more loudly. "What if someone from my family catches me like this? What am I going to do? How will I explain my five year disappearance?!"

Anabel placed a grip on Ash's arm and tugged on it, urging him to calm down. She also pulled him close to her as another reassurance that everything will turn out alright, at least that what she also secretly hoped. She also couldn't help but blush to herself on how close she was with Ash. It was interesting how in a twist of fate that she would see him again. However, this type of reunion was certainly the last thing she would've ever expected.

Lost and confused were not the words she would use to describe Ash. But whatever had happened to him and Pikachu, the Salon Maiden had already taken it upon herself to get to the bottom of this case since they just wound up in her hands. In any case, she was glad to be of help as a result of her secret feelings for the aspiring Pokémon Trainer.

"You! Imposter!" an older man shouted accusingly from his front yard towards Ash, much to his discomfort. "How dare you walk these streets with _his_ visage! Is it your wish to disrespect the fallen?!"

"Honey, please," his wife intervened in an attempt to calm him down. "He's not worth it. It's already been a few years now."

"Dear, do you even remember how _devastated_ Delia was when news of his demise finally came here?" the man reminded intensely. "I couldn't stand to see her like that… And I don't want to see that happen again if she sees this punk in town, giving her false hope that her boy is back from the great beyond."

"So the boy happens to look like him," his wife reasoned. "Delia's finally moved on since the past year. I don't think seeing a doppelganger would affect her that badly. It'd probably make her miss him, but that's about it."

"Did you forget that he was also the 'Pride of Pallet Town'?" the man continued. "He was one of the few Pokémon Trainers from this simple town that ever made it big in the League Conferences. Pallet Town never received such recognition, even with Samuel Oak living here."

While the couple continued to argue, Ash couldn't help but feel guilty about how much disorder and devastation his supposed death had caused in his hometown. This Delia person that angry man spoke of sounded like she probably might've been his mother. Ash was pulled from his thoughts before he could ponder on the subject by a forceful tug on his arm, courtesy of Anabel.

"Don't pay attention to them," Anabel warned. "I know it hurts, but we have an objective to complete. We'll take care of this confusion later."

"I understand," Ash mumbled, quickly looking back at the couple that was still quarreling. "I hope my mom is still okay."

Anabel felt herself involuntarily swallow from her companion's comment. Even though it would probably be a major distraction to do so, she thought about allowing Ash the privilege to visit his mother. She knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself after this if she didn't give him this reprieve at the very least. His mother probably needed it just as much.

"We'll find her house then," Anabel announced abruptly, looking Ash firmly in the eye despite being a few centimeters shorter than him. "Family is important, and I'm not going to be the one to prevent the closure you two will need right now."

Her slight change in plan was answered with a big hug from Ash. The Salon Maiden felt heat rising up in her face at an alarming fast rate. While Pikachu was also grateful that his Trainer was allowed to see his mother again, he was also quick to note on the girl's reactions and expressions every time they were close or intimate. The Mouse Pokémon bore a sly grin before looking away nonchalantly once Ash released Anabel from the hug.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Anabel," Ash said excitedly. "Let's find the house now!"

Anabel simply smiled and nodded in reply before they continued down the road in the search for Ash's house. Since she was still a bit weary in attempting to ask help from the townspeople due to previous experience, Anabel resorted to asking the Pokémon living around the town for their desired location.

She couldn't be any more grateful for her special talent in communicating with Pokémon at this very moment. There was a Rapidash by another front yard close to a river that knew Ash's family and even used to give the boy rides when he was younger. Despite being just as confused on seeing Ash again after hearing of his demise, the Rapidash was able to give the direction and the appearance of the house.

Within moments, the house was found close to Professor Oak's laboratory. To further confirm their finding, a Mr. Mime in an apron was outside sweeping the path to the house's entrance. It was everything that Rapidish said to Anabel would be.

"This is it, Ash," Anabel spoke. "Do you feel ready to confront your mother?"

In spite of personal fears and his own failing memory, Ash stepped forward with the unchanging resolution he had. He was only a few meters away when the Mr. Mime that was sweeping started to notice someone approaching the residence. The Mime Pokémon appeared to be frozen in place, staring with wide eyes while Ash pressed on undaunted from the look he was receiving.

It was only in a matter of moments that as he approached the gate that Mr. Mime reacted to legitimately seeing his face again, quickly panicking before stepping to the side to let the boy through. Ash looked down to Mr. Mime, who only stared back with a curious look. He was unsure to make out what the Psychic Pokémon was thinking right now. Was it glad to see him? Was it secretly bitter like the older man they ran into before? Ash couldn't worry about what Mr. Mime thought about him now. All that mattered to him now was seeing the woman that was supposed to be his mother. He tightened his fists.

This was the point of no return.

Out of hastiness and nerve, he pushed the door open too hard, inadvertently causing a loud slam to resonate within the interior of the house. Pikachu couldn't help but facepalm over this while Ash bore a sheepish expression.

"Mimey, is there something wrong?" a tender voice called from another room.

Soft footsteps made by slippers were heard, signifying someone's approach to the front door. Ash and Pikachu saw a woman emerge out of the room. She appeared to be in her thirties, though admittedly she was quite a beauty. In contrast to that outer natural beauty, however, the delicate mask she wore that assured her contentment to others couldn't hide the inner lifeless melancholy her brown eyes gave off. Ash was able to read her well enough to get an understanding what had happened to her.

"… Mom?" he tentatively spoke.

Delia looked up from the floor, seeing a face that she couldn't believe would be in front of her after all this time as much as she had longed for it. Ash noticed a bit of the light of life was gradually restoring itself in her eyes. The woman hesitated in taking steps forward, fearful that her despair-wearied mind was now playing tricks on her and that this countenance would disappear for good if she got too close.

The heartbreak had been too much the first time. She wasn't sure if she could handle another. She herself was still surprised that she was still among the living despite losing her only child.

"A-Ash," Delia gasped, taking her next set of steps as quickly as possible in order to reach out to him.

She stumbled onto her knees as she grabbed his shoulders. They were warm and corporeal to the touch. Her breaths were ragged and uneasy as she then pressed the side of her head into his chest, much to Ash's surprise. Though he couldn't really say himself that he can fully recognize her as his mother due to the amnesia, he still felt terrible for the emotional trauma and hardships he had put her through. This was the least he felt he could do, as well as explain the best he could in order to give her closure. Pikachu, Mr. Mime, and Anabel observed in silent anticipation to see Delia's ultimate reactions.

_*Beat*_

_*Beat*_

_*Beat*_

There was a living heartbeat within the body standing before her. It was enough for her to confirm it, so much so that she could not bear wearing her mask any longer. Soft sniffles were heard escaping from Ash's chest. The sobs became louder as Delia lifted her head upon Ash's left shoulder, holding him tight in her arms and unwilling to let go. She didn't care if anyone else was watching her in this broken, piteous state right now, granted that she felt that she has been in this state for the past five years already. All those years, she had to repress her grief and mourn silently so that she wouldn't bother others around her. Now she could finally let her guard down.

All that mattered to her now was that her baby boy was here, alive and back in her arms.

Anabel couldn't help but shed many tears of her own, sloppily wiping them off her cheeks with her hands as she reveled in this long-awaited reunion. Pikachu smiled, happy that it was well despite the potential misgivings they had regarding this scenario. Mr. Mime appeared to be content as well, glad that its owner was finally happy again after all these years.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Ash finally said, glad to finally rectifying his mistakes.

* * *

**I was originally going to have them skip straight to Professor Oak's lab, but I might as well make it a joyful reunion between mother and son. Too bad I couldn't post this in time with Mother's Day. That would've been so fitting. **

**Anyway, Professor Oak's lab will be in the next chapter, and that will be the end of the prologue arc. The return to Kalos will probably be at the end of the next chapter / beginning of arc one. **

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	4. P-4) The Prides of Pallet Town!

The reunion between mother and son was still deeply touching and heartrending despite the son having no memory of the mother. After releasing much sadness and anger within ten minutes of hugging her lost child, Delia had calmed down enough to hear out Ash's situation on what had happened to him so far. Fortunately for them, Anabel was around to speak on his behalf, sharing that she found him and Pikachu yesterday in Tohjo Falls and how they had turned out with no memory.

Situated in the living room of the Ketchum residence, Delia listened intently to Anabel's story, as well as her thoughts about this phenomenon.

"… And here we are, Mrs. Ketchum," Anabel concluded. "I'm sorry that he can't remember you right now."

"It's disheartening to find out, to be honest," Delia sighed graciously. "I guess it was too good to be true that Ash came back into my life since his disappearance in the Kalos region. But it really did mean a lot to me to visit me in my time of need."

"I'm the one who needs to say sorry," Ash intervened. "I can't imagine that it must be super hard that your own son can't even remember his mother. I probably can't even call myself your son."

"No," Delia responded, shaking her head softly. "I will admit that I was upset that you didn't recognize me. I saw it in your eyes. But no matter what happens, you will _always_ be my child. I know that you're my son. A mother just knows these things."

"… Oh."

Ash looked down as feelings of guilt surged up in his stomach. He was sure he deserved all that scolding beforehand, but this woman certainly didn't deserve having her own flesh-and-blood forget about her completely. She was so kind and hospitable, understanding and selfless as a mother would be toward her children. For him to not remember her at all would be considered a heinous act of insufferable ingratitude.

"Ash…"

Anabel reached out her hand and placed it upon the young boy's own hands, stirring the pensive amnesiac out of his dark thoughts. She was worried. She knew what he was thinking and gave a smile of reprieve.

"I'll make this right somehow," Ash mumbled, standing up with a resolute expression before looking at Delia. "I promise that the first memory that returns to me will be about you. By then, I can truly call you 'Mom'."

Delia placed a hand upon her chest, allowing additional tears to fall and pass the joyful smile her face now bore. She then got to her feet and embraced Ash once more.

"You've already made things right," Delia whispered into his ear. "Even with your memory gone, you're still the heroic, brave, thoughtful young man I raised you to become. You still know how to charm girls, that's for sure." Ash couldn't help but mildly blush from that last comment. Was it just a motherly comment, or was he really capable of getting girls to fall for him? "I wish I can do more for you, but I know you and Anabel have to go see Professor Oak."

"We'll also be heading for Kalos by tomorrow," Anabel announced, getting ready to leave. "I managed to book a couple of plane tickets for the morning slot. It'll be a few hours and we're estimated to arrive there sometime after noon."

"Then please stay for the night!" Delia immediately suggested, her eyes and outer aura radiating delightfully. "I'll cook up a wonderful dinner with Ash's favorites to celebrate his return! And you two should be able to rest well here for tomorrow's trip."

"That'd be wonderful," Anabel agreed with a humble bow.

"Now, now, no need to be so formal, Anabel dear," Delia remarked. "Now that I've gotten my son back, I have no problem taking in a daughter as sweet and beautiful as you."

"A… d-daughter?" Anabel repeated, feeling heating welling up in her face from the immediate implications of the idea. "M-M-Me?!"

"Hey, Anabel," Ash interrupted, tugging on her arm as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "Are we going to see this Professor Moak or what?"

"E-Eh? Right! Let's go!"

* * *

Grabbing Ash's arm back, Anabel quickly led him out as Delia waved to them good-bye until dinner time. Recovering from the fact that Mrs. Ketchum really liked her despite meeting her for the first time, Anabel focused her mind back to their main objective in getting help from Professor Oak. She wasn't sure how much help the old Pokémon Researcher would be at this time, but she knew that Ash kept his other Pokémon in the lab.

If anything, he could at least snag a few of his strong veteran Pokémon back to aid in their trip to the Kalos region.

In a few minutes, they found and climbed the large hill that housed Professor Oak's famous laboratory. Anabel felt a bit nervous as this was her first time visiting the great Pokémon Professor himself. Ash and Pikachu continued looking about in amazement over the peaceful scenery.

"I definitely would love living in a town like this," Ash commented. "It's so nice and easygoing aside from the people that think I'm masquerading as a dead person."

"Which you weren't," Anabel added rather brusquely before shaking off her nerves. "… Sorry, but knowing you, I imagine Professor Oak and his lab assistants must know you closely, so I'm worried about how _they'll_ react upon seeing your face."

"We'll never know unless we knock," Ash indicated casually.

"I'm actually jealous, Ash," Anabel replied with an amiable smile. "How do you take stressful things in stride?"

"I don't really have anything to lose at this point, so there's no reason to worry so much," Ash answered.

"Fair enough," Anabel accepted.

The Salon Maiden gave the front door a few sufficiently strong taps before backing off and standing side by side with Ash. A minute had passed since the last knock and there was no response. Ash and Anabel looked at the door in confusion before sharing glances.

"Maybe no one's home?" Ash offered.

"I want to knock the door again, but I think there might be some activity going on in the back," Anabel suggested. "I can hear the voices of Pokémon from the corral. There's something definitely going on there."

Sharing mutual nods of agreement, they ran off to the side of the building to cut straight to Professor Oak's Pokémon corral. Just as their presence was gone for good at the front door, the door itself decided to open up and the occupant scanned the area around for the identities of the door knockers.

"Geez, that's the fourth time this week," Gary grumbled as no one was around. "Either people are so impatient they can't wait for a guy to get out of the bathroom or the children these days don't have any respect for other people's property. Man…"

Gary slammed the door close right as Ash and Anabel arrived at the wooden fenced edges of the corral. True to Anabel's intuition, there were various kinds of Pokémon scattered about in doing their own business. Anabel was familiar with Professor Oak's additional occupation in taking care of Pokémon for Trainers from Pallet Town in addition to random wild Pokémon that have taken a liking to his expansive pasture of a backyard.

"I shouldn't be surprised that there's this many Pokémon here, but I can't help but comment how happy the Pokémon seem to be," Anabel said from first observation.

"Anabel, you said I might have Pokémon living here," Ash reminded. "Do you know which ones I own?"

"I honestly don't since I don't know what other Pokémon you would have aside from the ones you battled me with, Pikachu being one of them," Anabel confessed. "I've watched your past battles on TV, but I haven't had the chance to commit them to memory since I've been busy with my duties. The other two Pokémon I remember you having from our battle were Corphish and Tauros."

"So… is that them right there?" Ash inquired, pointing at a Vileplume and a Bulbasaur close by.

"… Not really," Anabel answered, giggling rather sheepishly.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," Ash mumbled with a frown. "If this Professor Oak isn't here, I won't be able to find out which Pokémon are mine, if I really do still have Pokémon."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been five years since I was gone from this world, isn't that what you said?"

"Well, yeah."

"What are the chances that the news of my 'demise' had affected my Pokémon here and made them move on out of here? What else would make them stay if the Trainer is gone?"

This was a very valid and logical point he brought up that Anabel didn't take into foresight. She had been hopeful that his Pokémon would still be living in Professor Oak's lab after all this time, but she forgot that with a Pokémon Trainer's termination, the Pokémon themselves are free to either go back into the wild or stay and remain captive.

A thin steadfast line was formed on her lips. They made it this far already. They couldn't just turn back now because of that possibility. It was from her own determination that Anabel grabbed Ash's hands from the side and held them between themselves.

"If we're trying to quote and imitate each other on what we recently said and done, then here's my answer," Anabel began, firmly locking her lilac eyes upon Ash's brown eyes. "We don't have anything to lose at this point, so there's no reason to worry so much."

Ash blinked a few times before bearing a calm smile upon reflection of his own echoing words from the Salon Maiden's mouth. He pulled a hand away to briefly scratch his nose.

"Boy, I've been really forgetful lately, aren't I?" Ash quipped. "You're right, Anabel. Let's settle this ourselves."

"Glad to hear it," Anabel responded fondly.

* * *

Ash and Anabel's next plan was to find which Pokémon in Professor Oak's corral originally belonged to him. Since no one had answered them at the front door and with time running a bit short, they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Being a bit of a strict rule-abider, Anabel was hesitant in simply going over the fence and into the corral as it would be considered trespassing into private property.

Unfortunately, while she was still deciding on her morals and priorities, Ash had went ahead and set foot into the privately own corral. Of course, such an impulsive action would wreck equally major consequences as the Pokémon nearby were now alerted to the presence of a trespasser.

"So Pikachu, how do you suppose we find out which Pokémon were mine?" Ash asked the Mouse Pokémon hanging out on his shoulder.

"Pika, Pikapi," Pikachu answered, shrugging as to say he had not a clue either.

"Hmm, maybe the ones that recognize us could check out?"

"Pii-Pikachu."

"Ash, get back here!" Anabel's voice called out to them just as soon as she realized he and Pikachu went in. "You're trespassing!"

"Wait, what?!"

"I forgot to mention that the corral is considered private property!" Anabel continued. "You're going to get in trouble if you stay in there!"

"I guess I'm not the only one being forgetful right now," Ash commented dryly under his breath. "Why did we even come back here?"

"Pika Pikachu, Pikapi!" Pikachu reasoned.

He then heard scrambling sounds coming from behind him. The noises certainly did not sound as friendly as he hoped. The worst possibilities were soon confirmed as he slowly turned around, discovering a group of displeased Grass-type Pokémon leering at him for intruding. Ash held his breath, not wanting to make any sudden movements that would otherwise provoke those Pokémon into attacking him. He didn't come here to fight.

In spite of the hostile looks he was receiving, Ash's eyes fell upon a small blue-green Pokémon that carried a large seed bulb on its back. It appeared to be gazing upon the human boy with a rather stern yet curious look as though it was expecting something out of him. His face, in addition to the Pikachu on his shoulder, was putting pieces of an unknown puzzle in its head.

"Um, hey, guys," Ash began in an attempt to calm them down. "Sorry for walking in on you like this. I'll leave immediately, okay?"

The Pokémon didn't appear convinced. Ash then took backward steps to uphold his aforementioned promise while gesturing the rather protective Pokémon to calm down. A few steps back, though, his right heel stepped upon a smooth rock half buried into the ground. The uneven footing caused Ash to lose balance and stumble on his back.

As he feared, the abrupt movement startled the Pokémon into attacking.

"Ash, no!" Anabel cried out.

The small Pokémon with the bulb became super attentive upon hearing the name the young woman behind the fence referred to human boy as. There was no way it was _him_, not after all this time. He was supposedly killed near the end of his journey in the Kalos region, as far as it knew, having only earned seven Badges before engaging against the resident villainous team there. But the more it tried to fight off hopeful thoughts, the more clear the evidence was before it that this young boy really was _him_.

That face…

That Pikachu partner…

His name…

"Bul-Bulbah!" it intervened instantly.

The Grass-type Pokémon froze in place, looking back at it before backing down and ceasing their attack plan on the trespassing boy. They trusted its judgment as it was considered one of the wiser and more mature Pokémon living in the corral. Ash sat up, observing as the Pokémon backed off to the sides. The smaller Pokémon appeared to have been their leader in order to command them to stand down like that.

He watched as the small leader approach him in a cool, dignified manner. The Pokémon continued to look into Ash's eyes. The solid evidence was present. It was more than enough to convince the tough little Pokémon that this boy truly was his missing Trainer. Its movement gradually went into a quicker pace, running towards the boy like there was no tomorrow. Its expression softened, reminding Ash on how the woman he was supposed to call his mother looked when he showed himself to her.

"Are you…?" Ash questioned under his breath as the small, quadrupedal Pokémon leapt towards him in a joyous manner.

Out of reflexes, he caught the Pokémon in his arms. Somehow, this felt completely right. Even without memory of his little one, Ash was sure that it was one of his remaining Pokémon. While he continued to hold onto the little Grass-type Pokémon, he heard two pairs of footsteps come from behind. Ash turned behind to see Anabel, along with a taller man with messy brown hair wearing a large white lab coat.

"Ash, are you alright?" Anabel asked.

"I think I found one of my old Pokémon, Anabel," Ash proclaimed in triumph.

"Of course that Bulbasaur belongs to you, Ashy-boy," the taller man remarked with a frisky smirk. "By the way, welcome back. I never doubted in you, though you definitely have some explaining to do like why you look almost five years younger than me."

"Uh… who are you supposed to be?" Ash inquired bluntly, eliciting a shocked expression from the brown-haired young man. "Professor Oak?"

"I guess I can't really call myself that yet," he quipped, looking at Anabel. "You weren't kidding when you said something major happened to him. I just didn't realize how serious this really is."

* * *

For the next moment of time, the three of them went inside the laboratory, where Anabel spoke on Ash's behalf regarding how she found him and what state he and Pikachu were in to Gary. Ash soon learned that Gary was his childhood friend and rival for a short time before he turned to following in his grandfather's footsteps in becoming a Pokémon Researcher.

Gary seemed to have accepted the news of Ash's amnesia fairly well, but still didn't like the situations Ash's supposed death and disappearance had placed his mother and other friends in five years ago. As a matter of fact, within the first year since receiving that dreaded announcement, he visited Delia every day to comfort her and help her out around the house since she had been an absolute wreck. He did this while fighting off his own grief over the loss of a close and respected friend. It just didn't make sense to him that Ash would actually be gone for good, but he kept his mouth in check just so that he wouldn't make things worse for Delia by accident.

The young Pokémon Researcher-in-training also mentioned that Ash's previous traveling companions from Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and even Unova had stopped by to pay their respects when they heard the news of it. Guilt had once more consumed Ash's spirits from listening to Gary's side of the story.

"I had no idea I affected so many people," Ash muttered. "The worst part is that I can't even think of anyone else right now, so the people I used to travel with… They are a complete mystery to me right now."

"Well, it's beyond your control, that's all I can say on the matter," Gary concluded, folding his arms. "Anyway, are you really serious in wanting to return to Kalos in spite of your current memory loss?"

"We feel it may hold answers on what had happened to Ash and how to possibly fix this," Anabel answered. "I mean, the more I think about it, the more likely he seems to be out of place in our time. He's supposed to look our age, right?"

"I see what you're getting at, Anabel," Gary responded. "If Grandpa and Tracey were here right now and not doing some random errand, I know they would advise him staying here and let his memory recover on its own. But with this kind of phenomena happening, in which he not only doesn't remember us but is also a few years behind us, there must be something powerful in the works that's done this."

"Time travel?" Anabel suggested.

"Time travel gone awry is more like it, but I'm afraid the evidence is still inconclusive for me to make a call," Gary explained. "But knowing Ash, he'd probably just rush in there to get things done right, just like earlier when you both were trespassing on lab property."

"We're really sorry about that," both Ash and Anabel apologized simultaneously.

"If I was in your shoes, I'd probably do the same, so no harm done," Gary said, waving it off. "Besides, you were lucky that Bulbasaur was in that group. Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out as pretty."

"Well, we came by to see if Ash can carry some Pokémon on him before we leave for Kalos tomorrow," Anabel announced. "Do you think it's still possible?"

"Of course!" Gary exclaimed proudly. "I actually took it upon myself to care for Ash's Pokémon since he supposedly disappeared. None of them actually wanted to go back into the wild, so I made sure they still remained in tip-top shape after all this time. I just need to see your Kalos Pokédex for a moment to check something, Ash."

"It's this thing, right?" Ash spoke up, pulling out the slim red device from one of his pockets before handing it over to Gary.

The young Pokémon Research activated the Pokédex and started to fiddle with the interface for a bit. His expression appeared to be neutral, but for some reason, it felt uncertain and doubtful. After clicking at several more holographic buttons, he closed the Pokédex and handed it back to Ash with a somber look.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, Ash," Gary began solemnly.

"He can't take any of his Pokémon here with him?" Anabel inquired apprehensively.

"No, it's not that, but the thing is he can only take one Pokémon from the lab with him," Gary continued, prompting much confusion on Anabel and Ash's part. "You see, Trainers are allowed up to six Pokémon at a time. According to Ash's current party record, he has a total of five Pokémon on him right now, which includes Pikachu."

"But all of his Poké Balls are empty right now," Anabel argued. "His Pokémon from Kalos somehow got left behind. That's got to count for something."

"I'm sorry, but the system is still not perfect after all this time," Gary muttered regretfully. "Ash can't leave those Poké Balls behind unless the system registers his Pokémon having been officially recalled back into them. It's a failsafe protocol to ensure that Pokémon are not accidentally released from ownership."

"His current Pokémon could probably be anywhere in this world if they decided to leave the Kalos region in a vain attempt to find him," Anabel debated. "How are we supposed to find them?"

"You better hope that they're still in Kalos then because there's nothing more I can do about this situation," Gary responded, clearly getting agitated that this conversation was becoming a hopeless tennis match. "I said I was sorry, but I can't change the system for Ash. For one thing, I don't have that kind of power. And two, even if I did have that power, I would then have to start making exceptions for other Pokémon Trainers, and that's just troublesome. Be grateful he can still take one Pokémon from the lab with him."

Ash noticed the sparking tension between Gary and Anabel. Before it would get out of hand, he stood up from the couch and went between them to break off the potential fight. He then glanced at Gary with a sure look in his eyes.

"Can you show me all my Pokémon?" Ash requested. "I want to see them for myself so that I can properly make the decision."

"Consider it done," Gary replied.

Gary had then led Ash and Anabel to the outside. They noticed that the sun was starting to set. It was almost time for them to head back to Delia to rest for tomorrow. But before they could move onto final preparations for the trip to the Kalos region, Ash needed to reacquaint himself with his Pokémon.

Right as they walked into the corral, they were greeted by Ash's Bulbasaur. Behind him was a large variety of Pokémon that appeared to be facing Ash with eager smiles and relieved countenances. Gary had safely assumed that Bulbasaur had been able to relate the same story to the rest of his Pokémon, and now they were all here, ready and willing to help Ash out however they could.

"You did a great job rounding up everybody, Bulbasaur," Gary praised before facing Ash. "Time for you to take your pick, Ashy-boy."

"Wow, I caught this many Pokémon?" Ash asked in amazement.

"Hmph, compared to when I was still a Trainer, this amount was only a small fraction compared to the amount of Pokémon I've captured," Gary remarked to the side.

"They are all strong and they want to help you get to the bottom of this, Ash," Anabel explained, having read into their outer emotions. "This might be a tough decision."

"I wish I can take them all with me," Ash admitted wistfully. "They all look so amazing and loyal while I'm completely powerless and unable to do a single thing."

It was at that moment that one Pokémon took the initiative and stepped forward to volunteer its services to Ash. Everyone looked upon the direction of a tall green Pokémon with the large tail and bulbous seeds on its back. This Pokémon's most defining trait, however, was the twig it carried in its mouth. It was none other than the Forest Pokémon, Sceptile.

"Scep-Sceptile," Sceptile declared, much to the surprise and resentment of some of the other Pokémon.

"It looks like Sceptile is the first to elect himself to be with you, Ash," Anabel noted. "Though it looks like your Bayleef, Charizard, Gliscor, and Oshawott appear to be against the notion. I can tell they really want to be the ones to help you."

"Let it be first come, first serve," Gary groaned. "We don't have all day. Ash, just pick Sceptile already."

Ash didn't say anything, but continued to watch as his Pokémon continued to converse among each other about something. Anabel and Pikachu paid attention to their feelings, determining that their levels of dedication were equal no matter what any other Pokémon would say. However, Sceptile then shared something that seemed to have struck a chord in Anabel.

"Hey, Ash, listen to this," Anabel advised. "The reason Sceptile volunteered immediately is that he, too, went through a stage in which he was completely useless. This was right after he had evolved from a Grovyle. He couldn't use attacks for a while due to a previous heartbreaking trauma. It wasn't until he witnessed your true dedication in helping him overcome his stumbling blocks that he did manage to push through and regain his powerful strength again. Since then, he has been one of your strongest fighters up to date."

"So Sceptile is able to relate to Ash and wants to return the favor by protecting him and becoming stronger," Gary surmised knowingly.

"Is that true?" Ash asked as he approached his Pokémon.

Sceptile replied with a cool, but gentle smile and nod. The other Pokémon that wanted to fight the Forest Pokémon for the right to be with Ash had soon backed off after the revelation. Even Charizard appeared to have shown some respect to his fellow powerhouse as he gave his own thumbs-up of approval. Ash was dedicated to all of them, based from their memories with him, but Sceptile was currently the only one that can sympathize with Ash on what's happened to him.

"Scehp," Sceptile grunted.

"I guess I've now decided," Ash announced, placing a hand on the Grass-type Pokémon's shoulder. "Sceptile, I choose you."

"I'm glad that's finally settled," Gary remarked. "Let me get Sceptile's Poké Ball so that you guys can go on your way. And Ash, best of luck in getting your memories back in the Kalos region."

Anabel was certainly thankful that things have been going swimmingly for her and Ash this day, from reuniting him with his mother to his own Pokémon. However, she still had her apprehensions that the worst has yet to come. She was sure that something big was waiting for them once they would arrive in the Kalos region. But she wasn't going to let these downer thoughts get to her for the night.

After all, Ash's mother had made a wonderful dinner as part of her celebrating the return of her son. It took one bite of her special cooking to realize how remarkable of a cook she was. Even Ash thoroughly enjoyed the meal he was having as Delia claimed they were his favorites. She was true to her word, just as Ash was true to his word that his first returning memories would be of his mother.

The delicious aroma was strong enough to pull the distant mental pieces together. The power that kept them separate was overcome. It took one bite of her wonderful home cooking to bring the memory of his mother feeding him as a young child this favored dish of his.

"Mom… I remember you now," Ash said, looking her straight in the eye after that one bite with greatest sincerity. "I love you, Mom."

Delia held in her jubilant tears until after dinner. That was all that this mother ever wanted to hear at this time.

* * *

_**End of Chapter!**_

* * *

**Ash and Anabel will be in Kalos by the next chapter, which will mark the beginning of Arc One. I'm glad you all were able to bear with the Prologue arc. Anyway, I have my reason for having Sceptile join Ash in Kalos (I'm sure you can infer what I wanted, or hoped to see in the anime at least in some form).**

**As for you readers guessing what **_**Super Paper Mario**_** elements are being applied to where, I am amused by the answers. But I will say this, that the guesses I've received are still a bit far off. Sure I'm basing this plot off of the game, but I'm doing it in ways that you may not be able to guess right away. That's the beauty of the suspense.**

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	5. 1-1) Return to Lumiose City!

"… _I didn't even want to come to this camp in the first place… … … MOMMY!"_

…

…

"_Poliwag, are you there? … Oh, hey there! My name is Ash. What's wrong?"_

"… _I… I hurt my leg…"_

"_Hmm, this handkerchief should help once I tie it on your knee. … How's that?"_

"_Ow! It hurts…"_

"_It's also a good luck charm to help you feel better. And make the pain go away!"_

"_O-Ow…! It's no good. I still can't stand!"_

"_Here, don't give up until the end! Okay?"_

…

…

"… _H-Huh?!"_

"_Ha! You did it! Let's return to camp. This way, follow me!"_

…

…

"… … _Ash…"_

* * *

"… Hey, Ash? … Wa… …p! … … Wake… up! … … Wake up!"

Ash felt his head throb in pain as he stirred from his slumber. His vision was starting to become clearer. He couldn't remember much of anything at the moment, at least not until he found Anabel seated at his side and looking at him with amusement. Pikachu was on his lap, seemingly asleep until he noticed a poorly disguised grin on his little face.

"… What's up?"

"I hope you had a nice nap because we'll be arriving in Lumiose City within the next ten minutes," Anabel explained. "You were so energetic earlier when the flight started, but I guess it wore you out for the next few hours."

"_*Yawn*_ … That sounds about right," Ash mumbled, forcing himself to be awake.

"Did you have any interesting dreams?" Anabel asked.

"Nothing in particular, though it's kind of strange," Ash began thoughtfully. "I felt like I was watching some old movie or something."

"That's okay," Anabel responded. "Sometimes, it's hard to remember certain dreams unless they've impacted on us through some way or another. I won't push the matter any further, though part of me hoped that a clue to your memories would come in your dreams."

"Well, I remember who my mom is now, so that should be a start," Ash brought up, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Not to mention, I've got Sceptile with me now."

"Yeah, Sceptile has been your Pokémon for a long time," Anabel commented. "I can tell that even with your amnesia, Sceptile still holds a large amount of trust in you."

"_Attention, passengers,_" the head pilot's voice started up over the plane intercom. "_We're about to touch down on Lumiose City, so please keep your seatbelts on until the signs overhead turn off. Collect only your belongings as we will not be responsible of theft or misplaced items. In addition, here's an additional warning that the compartment contents may have shifted during flight. Thank you for flying with us this fine day and we look forward to soaring the skies with you once more!_"

"The last remarks of airplane protocol really get repetitive," Anabel muttered disdainfully.

"You flew in airplanes before?" Ash asked.

"A few times when I was younger as part of some family vacations around the world," Anabel explained. "Flights seem to make me fussy because they're super boring most of the time, but I still wind up enjoying the trips afterwards."

"Well, you seem to be in good spirits right now, if nothing else."

"Thank you, Ash. I'd like to think that I'm handling flights better each time I go on one."

As directed by the pilot's earlier instructions, the passengers waited until their airplane had made a safe stop and the seatbelt signals over their heads turned off. Eager to see what the Kalos region was, Ash quickly rose from his seat and pushed through several other passengers with Anabel failing to pull him back under control.

Pikachu had leapt onto his shoulder and hung on until they reached the exit. The airplane door slid open and the duo was greeted by a fresh sight of Kalos scenery. In comparison to the places he remembered back in the Kanto region, Kalos just seemed to have a classier air about it.

Maybe it was because this region would be considered foreign to them, but nevertheless, Ash and Pikachu basked in awe of this new place. What was it called again, the city they landed in? Ah yes, Lumiose City.

"Hey, Kalos region!" Ash bellowed all of a sudden, prompting strange and concerned looks from the citizens around him. "I'm back! And I'm determined to find out where I left off!"

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Anabel scolded in a hushed whisper, catching up to him at the top of the boarding stairway. "You can't make a scene like that in public! What if someone recognizes you?"

"You said it's supposedly been five years," Ash responded, shrugging noncommittally. "What are the chances that someone from the past is here? Besides, I wanted to have some fun while I'm here."

"I'm all for fun and all, but you can't forget the real reason why we came back here," Anabel reprimanded before softening back up. "We can't be careless no matter what."

"Right, I'm sorry," Ash relented, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was hoping that seeing this place again would trigger something like what my mom's food did last night."

"We'll need to play this smart for now until we understand how to go about," Anabel advised, grabbing onto one of Ash's hands. "Let's go look around until we find a good lead."

"Got it," Ash agreed.

The Salon Maiden gently led Ash down the stairs from the airplane, careful not to trip over and start tumbling down like a maniac. It was only until reaching the bottom of the stairs that she actually realized something major going on.

_We're holding hands?!_ Anabel screamed mentally despite keeping a relatively normal posture.

She was also fortunate that Ash was not looking at the current expression her face was making at the moment or she would really feel mortified. The sights of Lumiose City still captivated him and Pikachu that they didn't know or care which direction Anabel was leading them as long as it was to somewhere new and exciting.

"How interesting," a young dark-haired man mused, peering at the foreign couple from the corner of his eye as they traveled past him. "So _that's_ what happened."

* * *

Ash and Anabel ventured into Lumiose City, though even as they wondered about, the realization soon occurred that they actually had no direction to head to at this point. Getting to the Kalos region was their main mission, but as for the actual locations, they were drawing a blank when it came to improvising.

And of course, it did not help that Ash still had no idea what was where. Though if he did, then they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"We really should have thought this through," Anabel sighed, glancing about her to see nothing but buildings of the same design. "I think we're lost."

"It's like we've been going around in circles," Ash noted with him and Pikachu looking about in different directions. "You'd think we catch something out of the ordinary or something in a city like this."

"Out of the ordinary… Hey, wait… That's it!"

"What's 'it'?"

Anabel pulled out a Battle-Frontier-issued PokéNav Plus from her side pouch and had it connect into the wireless Kalos network. She was surprised that she had this device on her person as she usually didn't carry it around with her back at the Battle Tower. After all, she had no place to put it in, at least in regards to her more formal-like Salon Maiden attire.

Resuming course, she loaded up a map of Lumiose City in her PokéNav Plus.

"We'll be able to distinguish certain landmarks with this map," Anabel explained, scrolling gingerly on the screen in order to pinpoint their current location in the city. "Thanks to your reminder, Lumiose City has a couple of major points to visit for help. One of them is that the leading expert of Pokémon for the Kalos region, Professor Sycamore, lives here. Another is the Prism Tower, which is also the Lumiose City Gym. I'm sure that the local Gym Leader can help us out."

"What makes you think that?" Ash asked.

"Since you were previously collecting Kalos Badges, then chances are that you passed through this Gym and beat it. Hopefully, the Gym Leader here should remember you and won't be too shocked seeing you again."

"Oh, yeah… Good point. So do you propose seeing the Gym Leader and then the Kalos Professor after?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me."

As the two of them finalized their plans, they were unknowingly watched by a being hiding in the shadows of the trees nearby. Its eyes widened from seeing the boy with the Pikachu. There was no doubt it was _him_ again. Action needed to be taken now before he would disappear again. These times had been hard and brutal. There was no option to give up. _He_ never allowed that option. The watcher then used incredible leg strength to leap from tree to tree, hiding in their shade to avoid detection.

At the same time, two figures hiding in the space between two nearby buildings found their elusive quarry swiftly hopping out of the tree and promptly gave chase.

* * *

"Whoa… So _this_ is Prism Tower?" Ash remarked, basking in the grandness of the large structure built at the heart of the city.

"The citizens here say that Prism Tower lights up at night, so you can see the fantastic illuminations pointing out in all directions," Anabel relayed. "It sounds really romantic."

"I don't know too much about lights, but I bet they'll be an awesome sight to see at night," Ash concurred.

"Pii-ka Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

His sensitive ears momentarily twitched. It was a strange feeling, but the Mouse Pokémon could tell that someone was approaching them and fast. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and engaged into a defensive stance posthaste.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash inquired.

"There's something coming towards us," Anabel clarified. "In a public place like this, it would be crazy if it turned out to be a threat."

"With all these people and Pokémon around, you're right," Ash added.

Hearing this, Pikachu relaxed a bit and ceased discharging static out of his cheek pouches. Ash and Anabel were also looking around to see what was heading their way. There were a handful of people and Pokémon around, minding their own business, so it was hard to distinguish who or what exactly to look out for.

Pikachu glanced at a direction with the others following suit. A small figure leapt overhead and landed several meters in front of them. This figure was blue and had the look of a specialized ninja. Though with the peculiar white mask it wearing on its head, it was unknown if this newcomer was a friend or foe.

"It must be a Kalos-native Pokémon," Anabel noted. "I've never seen one up close before."

"Hold on there, Pikachu," Ash recommended, gingerly approaching the mysterious one, who looked back at the boy rather expectantly. Anabel had a hunch of what was going on, based off of the aura radiating from the new Pokémon as it observed Ash. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

He took a few steps closer. Similarly to how Bulbasaur was back at Professor Oak's lab, this Pokémon carefully observed the Pallet Town Trainer's features until a perfect match was made in its mind. His face, manners, and personality reminded it of previous memories fighting alongside him.

There was no doubt.

Regardless of the cool and collected outer appearance this Pokémon bore, it felt truly happy for the first time. Just like the situation with Bulbasaur, Ash had no recollection of this sly Pokémon. But some unknown force from within was drawing him closer to the Pokémon. Once more, he was relying on this strange gut feeling with no memories to go on.

If this blue Pokémon turned out to be one of his missing Kalos Pokémon, then all the more better in progressing in their current quest.

If not, well, it would be good to befriend anyone that would come their way and help regardless.

As if on instinct, Ash and the Pokémon were gradually extending out a longing hand towards each other, reaching out to connect. Though just as the tips of their fingers were but mere inches from the other…

"I'm afraid that Pokémon doesn't belong to you, kid," a snide voice intervened.

Ash glanced at the direction from where the voice spoke while the blue Pokémon took a leap back and assumed a fighting stance. Anabel and Pikachu went to his side to deal with a couple of strangers that were dressed in even stranger clothing.

Rather, the strangers were a man and a woman dressed in closely matching red suits. Even their hair was dyed red and styled in an unusually similar way.

"What are you talking about?" Ash rebuffed, not liking the way the man addressed him.

"That Frogadier you're making friends belongs to our Leader," the man continued coldly. "Though to be truthful, I should say that one of our Leader's Pokémon is fond of it and has been upset ever since it ran away. That Pokémon has been persistent in eluding us, so do us a favor and let us recapture it."

"Dier-dier," the Frogadier croaked, shaking its head in disapproval.

"It sounds like Frogadier doesn't want to go back with you," Anabel responded, reaching for one of her Poké Balls.

"Little girl, don't try to pretend you know it all," the red woman spoke up, tossing up a Poké Ball and releasing a Liepard. "We're on a mission to recapture that Frogadier for our Leader. Kids like you shouldn't get in our way."

"Listen up," Ash interrupted, stepping in front of Anabel and Frogadier with Sceptile's Poké Ball on hand. "I don't know what's going on here, but if this Pokémon doesn't want to go with you, they I'm not going to let you force it."

The Frogadier looked at him in astonishment, wondering if he misheard him. Did Ash just refer to him as 'this Pokémon' and not by what he was called? Something wasn't adding up. Frogadier was sure this was _him_ after all this time. Was he mistaken? Did the boy lose his memory or something? It felt like everything has been going wrong since the past five years he lost his Trainer. Anabel was able to sense his doubt and turned to him.

"Frogadier, you're confused about him, aren't you?" Anabel surmised, startling the Bubble Frog Pokémon out of his thoughts. "Once we get out of this, I promise we'll explain everything that's happened."

This young woman seemed sincere and trustworthy enough, especially since she has been in the boy's company. After all the struggles he had been through, Frogadier was still wary about trusting her immediately. However, she was coming to the defense against those goons chasing him, so she certainly couldn't be bad.

"I've had enough of playing around," the man growled, sending out a Mightyena to join his partner's Liepard. "I don't know why our Leader sent us on this ridiculous errand, but I suppose we won't be able to focus on our true objective if we don't take care of this now. I swear our Leader is… Whatever. Mightyena, get going!"

"You too, Liepard!" the woman commanded.

Before the two Dark-types could advance, a powerful Flamethrower stream flew in from the side and seared through the paths in front. The source came from a Charizard in the air, which then flew down to a dark-haired man wearing a white lab coat, presumably its Trainer.

"What's going on now?!" Ash demanded.

"Well, well," the man greeted with a sneer at the latest intruder. "I've heard your name and reputation throughout our organization, though I never would imagine actually meeting you."

"We've been members for a few years now, but we've been taught well on who _you_ are, Alain," the woman continued, seemingly just as displeased as her partner. "Has returning to Sycamore's side as his lowly assistant been as exciting as you like?"

"Don't you _dare_ speak his name in that manner!" the man called Alain threatened, accompanied by a warning roar from his Charizard. "If anyone's lowly, it's you two Neo Flare stooges finally crawling out of the ground and showing yourselves. I was wondering when you guys would finally show up here. You guys have just started trouble a few months ago in other parts of Kalos. What are you up to now since you made the effort to public attack both people and Pokémon in Lumiose?"

"You shouldn't worry about expecting us if you've been keeping tabs on us," the Neo Flare man responded. "We've already begun our counterattack now that our Leader has been ready to lead us to a new world of true beauty and perfection."

Alain frowned before darting his eyes to where Ash and Anabel were. At this point, he couldn't let anything happen to them, not until the full story would be shared. They needed to be safe. They need to be with the Professor now, even if he didn't fully understand the reason why at the moment. It just had to be done. That was why he intervened.

"You two over there, take Frogadier and go to Professor Sycamore's laboratory," Alain ordered. "There's no time to explain right now. I'll handle these two. Find Professor Sycamore, Ash."

"How do you know my name?" Ash inquired. "What's going on? And how are we supposed to get there anyway?"

"Ash, I got it over here," Anabel spoke up, showing him the map on her PokéNav Plus screen. "We were planning to visit anyway, so let's do what he says for now. He might know something about your case somehow. I think we should trust him for the time being and that he can take care of himself against those bad guys."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice then," Ash muttered grudgingly.

He didn't want to leave the young man that stepped in on their behalf, but there wasn't much else he could do at this point. He was still unfamiliar with everything around him, especially with the situation with the Frogadier, if it was really his Kalos Pokémon. Everything was just coming in at him from all directions. This was all too fast for him to comprehend and digest.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Alain shouted.

"Oh no, you don't!" the Neo Flare man retaliated, sending both Mightyena and Liepard forward. "Stop them!"

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

The Flame Pokémon swooped in before either Mightyena or Liepard could scatter, slashing at them both with draconic-powered claws and rendering the both of them down on the ground. Anabel took it as a cue to flee, pulling Ash along to go find Professor Sycamore, much to his initial protest. Pikachu and Frogadier followed along. Alain saw them off and smirked to himself. At least they're safe for now.

"To think, we've been wasting our time chasing after one Pokémon, but now we have to tango with you," the Neo Flare man complained. "Not exactly the most productive activity for our plans of world purification."

"Don't underestimate us just because you're able to Mega Evolve your Charizard," the Neo Flare woman added. "We still outnumber you two to one."

"I don't need to Mega Evolve Charizard to send you two packing," Alain responded coolly. "Whoever your Leader is now, your plans will still fail regardless. I still remember how the old Team Flare operated years ago and you're no different."

"Such arrogance…!"

"You've asked for it now, boy! Attack and don't hold back!"

"Charizard, Blast Burn!"

The bystanders watching the impending clash were wise enough to quickly flee the area and alert the local authorities about it. If it was going to anything like last time, they must be stopped immediately as…

Team Neo Flare has finally struck upon Lumiose City.

* * *

**Yep, Team Flare has been revived as Team Neo Flare… or Neo Team Flare. However it's supposed to be worded… After all, there's got to be an antagonistic organization for this story for the main characters to battle.**

**For anyone that isn't familiar with the **_**Super Paper Mario**_** plot, you can look it up on the Super Mario Wiki website. Just search for 'Mario Wiki' on Google, click on the first link leading to it, and then search for **_**Super Paper Mario**_** to read about its story. That is provided that you don't mind being spoiled if you have yet to play it, but wanted to.**

**Also, if anyone was wondering what Anabel's outfit is here, it's those casual clothes from one of her appearances in the manga (I don't read manga, sorry) where she appears as a photographer. Noticeable details include a white short-sleeve shirt, an orange neckerchief, and a green beret. Ring any bells? I'm not good with coming up with original designs, so you probably won't see me describing (or drawing) anything original anytime soon.**

**And so begins Arc 1.**

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	6. 1-2) A Trip Down Memory Lane!

Previously, Ash and Anabel were able to have a safe landing in the Kalos region in a place called Lumiose City. During their exploration of the large city, they encountered a Pokémon native to the Kalos region called Frogadier. This Pokémon seemed to be familiar with Ash, but with amnesia still taking its toll on the latter, Ash had no recollection of it whatsoever.

But before they could acquaint themselves, two strangers in red suits intruded on them and demanded that they handed over Frogadier. It was then another man named Alain intervened on their behalf with his Charizard and ordered Ash and Anabel to find Professor Sycamore, the Kalos region's resident expert of Pokémon.

Leaving Alain to fend off the strangers that were from Neo Team Flare, Anabel used her map to guide them to where Professor Sycamore's lab was located. Frogadier had escaped alongside with them.

At this point, they were running down a long road, but according to the map, they were less than a mile away from the laboratory.

"It didn't feel right leaving that guy behind," Ash stated. "It was two to one."

"His Charizard was strong enough to handle both Mightyena and Liepard," Anabel reassured. "Besides, we have to protect Frogadier from them."

"Froug," Frogadier croaked, accepting their hospitality.

"Hey, Anabel, that building on the right is large and different from the rest," Ash indicated ahead. "Do you think that's the lab?"

"Yeah, that should be the one," Anabel confirmed, double-checking the map on her PokéNav Plus. "And no sign of those people from Neo Team Flare either, which is good."

Their small group was able to relax now that they were close to the Professor's laboratory. Frogadier went ahead to guide the two humans in. Realizing that Ash must've lost his memory, the Bubble Frog Pokémon wasn't about to hold the fact that nothing sparked in the boy upon first sight against him. He knew better than to hold such grudges, especially towards someone he greatly respected and cared about before. Ash soon caught up and opened the front door to let the others in first.

"Hello, is Professor Sycamore here?" Ash called out.

His voice echoed through the wide room and halls of the building. Things appeared to be orderly as books and papers were neatly arranged in stacks on the tables. Ash was soon responded by a rather careless yawn and oncoming footsteps coming from the stairs on the side.

"I'm on the way," the approaching voice spoke. "What seems to be the trob…?"

Professor Sycamore couldn't seem to finish his last sentence upon seeing his guests. He quickly recognized the Frogadier that was with the visitors, though the lilac-haired young woman was a mystery. The appearance of the young boy in the red hat with the Pikachu, however, just changed things drastically.

"Is something wrong?" Anabel asked, worried that he stood in place for almost a minute now.

"This can't be," Professor Sycamore muttered in amazement, quickly closing the distance between himself and his guests. "But I'm seeing this before my eyes."

Ash, in particular, was taken aback as the tall professor practically loomed over him. He was deductive enough to realize that his sudden appearance after being missing the past five years must have affected him as well.

"Uh, I guess I can try to explain," Ash offered to get him off.

"It _is_ you!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "Marvelous! Seeing you again, alive and well at that, brings peace to my soul. You have no idea, Ash."

"Then it looks like we all have some things to explain," Anabel proposed.

"I'll get Sophie to clear up my schedule for the next couple of hours and to bring us some tea," Professor Sycamore added, knowing what urgent business needed to be done.

* * *

Ash, Anabel, Pikachu, Frogadier, and Professor Sycamore settled into a couple of fine couches nearby. While Sophie came in to serve tea and to shake off the initial shock of seeing Ash again, the latter was the first to explain his side of the story regarding as much as he remembered, from waking up in Sinjoh… excuse me, _Tohjo_ Falls in the Kanto region and being discovered by Anabel. He also added that he and Pikachu were somehow displaced in time as it was five years since they were last seen, to which the Kalos Professor confirmed.

Anabel took the courtesy of adding the fact that Ash and Pikachu lost their memories prior to her finding them. Only by finding out that they were last seen in the Kalos region was reason enough to travel back.

"I see," Professor Sycamore mused. "I guess I should have expected as much what would've happened to you when that ultimate weapon beam hit."

"What ultimate weapon?" Ash questioned.

"I remember seeing something on the news years ago regarding the disbandment of Team Flare in Kalos," Anabel shared. "The ultimate weapon is an ancient artifact that is capable of either granting eternal life or taking lives away in exchange for the lives of other living beings… Now I remember! They said that you lost your life to it!"

"But I'm still alive," Ash pointed out. "So why didn't I die?"

"That is a good question indeed, Ash," Professor Sycamore applauded. "I only know some details about it after being told the story by one of your former friends, but I've been so preoccupied with my responsibilities that I cannot remember everything. All I know is that it had to do with something that was routing the power to the ultimate weapon."

"Professor, are you in right now?" a new, familiar voice called in.

"Ah, Alain, please enter," Professor Sycamore replied.

Coming through the doorway was the same man that helped Ash and Anabel escape from the Neo Flare Grunts with his Charizard. He appeared to be virtually unscathed from the encounter and thus bore a reserved, triumphant smirk.

"I see our guests made it here in one piece," Alain remarked. "I had no problem with our Neo Flare problem, especially when this guy behind me came out of his Gym. For some reason, they quickly backed off when they saw him."

"I-I'm not that much of a piece of work," a bashful voice answered from behind Alain, slowly walking around him to get in front. "I just wanted to see all the commotion outside Prism Tower because it was disrupting my inventing. And you mentioned that Professor Sycamore needed…."

The blond-haired stranger seemed to have frozen in place, as though he had seen a ghost, in which he would deny such incredulous claims. The direction he was facing was that of Professor Sycamore's earlier guests, more specifically the boy with the Pikachu.

"Hi there," Ash greeted casually. "My name is Ash. What's yours?"

The next few moments were filled with a surprisingly loud and long scream from the blond stranger. Alain attempted to calm and restrain him, but that still didn't affect his rather amazing lung capacity.

"You seem to have that kind of effect on others everywhere you go, huh Ash?" Anabel teased, to which the amnesiac boy rolled his eyes.

"Im-Im-Impossible!" the blond cried out. "But… I want to believe it."

"You can," Ash responded. "I'm here now, living and breathing."

Just to prove his point and make things easier for the blond, Ash stood from his seat and walked over to him, extending out a hand upon reaching him. The blond Gym Leader cautiously reached out and felt his living hand before dropping on his knees.

"You alright?" Anabel intervened before Professor Sycamore gestured her to sit back down.

"These are two friends finally coming back together," he explained. "The bond they share is stronger than that of regular brothers. I've seen this every time they visit the lab. It's a marvelous thing to behold."

"I… I'm so happy," the blond whispered, lifting up his glasses and wiping a few tears. Ash helped him back to his feet. "You're back… I don't know what else to say."

"Mind telling me your name?" Ash suggested with a sheepish grin. "Thing is that my memory is not working the way it should right now, so I don't remember anything about this place at all."

"Oh, I understand," the blond replied, feeling dejected upon hearing such news. It did seem too good to be true to begin with. "Well, my name is Clemont, inventor and Gym Leader of the Lumiose Gym. I also traveled with you around Kalos and learned so many incredible things in our journey together."

"Even though I can't remember that journey, I can tell that you must've grown a lot from it," Ash complimented. "It's what your eyes say."

"My eyes?" Clemont repeated.

"I probably sound like an idiot that doesn't know what he's talking about right now, but I can tell that you're a strong person or grew to become a strong person," Ash elaborated, much to the Lumiose Gym Leader's growing embarrassment.

"… I really don't know what to say to that," Clemont chuckled nervously.

"We need your help, Clemont," Anabel interrupted. "Whatever happened to Ash back when he was still with you might've made him end up at this time. Can you recall the events that happened when you lost Ash?"

The mood in the room seemed to have calmed down. Ash became somber upon observing Clemont's reaction to the mentioned request. All eyes were upon him.

"It's not something I enjoy looking back, so please bear with me," Clemont announced, walking back with Ash to join Anabel and Professor Sycamore.

"Thank you for doing this, Clemont," Professor Sycamore commended.

Clemont then took a deep breath and did his best to recount the moments that followed Ash and Pikachu's impending demise by the ultimate weapon. He had a bit of a shaky start, but managed to pull through in the end.

* * *

_Five years ago..._

"I know it's not going to matter much to you since you don't remember me or your friends, Ash, but please pretend you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we didn't know what to expect when you were hit by the ultimate weapon's attack. We immediately assumed the worst within the first moments."

_Everyone was left staring blankly at the now vacant spot where Ash and Pikachu once stood. It only took a few seconds to finally register in their minds that they were gone, possibly for good. That horrible realization alone was able to bring Ash's remaining Pokémon to their knees as they struggled against the tears coming to their eyes. Their beloved Trainer was gone and they were completely helpless in fulfilling their responsibilities in protecting him. They failed him._

_His traveling companions were in no better shape, possibly taking it worse than his Pokémon were. Bonnie and Dedenne had already taken the role for everyone by filling the empty air with heartbreaking lamentations. Clemont instinctively held her tight in order to calm her down and to not lose her as well._

"My sister and I took a few days to recover and to mourn for you. As for your other friend, Serena, let's just say I was really worried how she took it at first."

_Serena was paralyzed by shock, fear, and desperation. This was certainly not how she wanted things to end, to have Ash promptly ripped out of her reach and harbor the possibility of never seeing him again. He never even knew how she truly felt about him. She lost the strength to hold up her head and allowed her already streaming tears to drop upon the cold floor near her boots. _

"_A valiant life like his doesn't deserve to be in an imperfect world like this," Lysandre commented solemnly as an attempt at consolation. "I assure you now he's in a better place."_

"_Sir, about that," Xerosic intervened. "There's something…"_

_Before the Team Flare Scientist could continue, a huge Flamethrower rushed in, narrowly missing both him and Lysandre. The source of the attack turned out to be Braixen, who appeared just as mournful as her Trainer. The pair then noticed that Serena had been in a command position, having issued the Fox Pokémon to attack them._

"I don't think I've ever seen her so angry. And I didn't think I would be so scared for my life."

"_Give him back," Serena whispered in a dangerous tone that matched the ferocity in her eyes._

_She didn't need to say anything more for Braixen to know when to attack again, to which she promptly did after her first threat. This time, her Flamethrower caused Lysandre to stumble in an attempt to evade it, dropping the remote control for the ultimate weapon in the process. _

_Pyroar attempted to come to the rescue, but a Stone Edge had struck him at his blindside. Having worn himself out from battling Ash's other Pokémon earlier, he was unable to get up and fight. Pancham pulled its hands from the ground, allowing the Stone Edge to recede now that its job was done._

"_Serena, what are you…?" Clemont attempted to ask, but glancing into her glaring eyes dissuaded him from asking further._

"_Do you hear me?" Serena continued, commanding her Pokémon to continue their vengeful assault. "Give him back!"_

"In her rage, Serena took down Team Flare's leader while their guard was down. The proper authorities soon caught up to make their arrests. And Serena was restrained before she could do any more damage."

_The Kalos officers were pulling out the various Grunts they managed to capture and arrest out of the Team Flare Secret HQ. Back within the hidden chamber of the ultimate weapon's controls, a couple of officers had placed handcuffs on Lysandre and Xerosic with their hands behind their back._

_Serena was in Clemont's hold and had calmed down to accept the terrible tragedy that happened._

"_Are you better now?" Clemont asked._

"_No," Serena replied instantly, tears involuntarily falling from the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't do a thing. I was just as helpless and useless the day Ash met me. And this is how I repay him…"_

"_We are just as much to blame, so stop beating yourself over it," Clemont reprimanded._

"_I couldn't save him," Serena continued in her dreary, brokenhearted trance. "I never even told him about it… Even now I still can't."_

"_Serena, please!" Bonnie pleaded. "Do you think Ash would want this for you?"_

_The little girl's words stirred something in the Vaniville Town Performer, pulling her out of her self-pity depression. His words echoed in her mind once more to the point that she imagined that he was talking to her._

"_Don't give up until it's over!"_

_Serena huffed a bitter laugh before wiping her tears, realizing how foolish and childish she was behaving. Ash wouldn't have wanted this for her or for anyone else. She saw his remaining Pokémon had finished mourning their mutual loss and appeared to be back to normal._

"_If I may," Xerosic spoke up after clearing his throat. "There's something you all need to know before you rudely interrupted me with that Flamethrower of yours." _

"_What use is it now that you're arrested, meanie?" Bonnie retorted while Clemont attempted to curb her temper._

"_It's regarding your supposedly 'dead' friend, that's what," Xerosic answered._

"_So you're going to taunt us more about Ash?" Bonnie egged on. "You're a sick man!"_

"_Bonnie, that's enough," Clemont scolded, much to her displeasure._

_Serena maintained a neutral look as a spark of hope had lit up in her recently shattered heart. If it was going to be as she imagined, then there might still be a chance left for her to make things right._

"_You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but I have to share this with you for the glory of science," Xerosic continued. "There is a possibility that boy and his Pikachu weren't killed when they were hit by the ultimate weapon's attack."_

"_But how can that be?" Clemont asked. "It's using Yveltal's death energy, isn't it?"_

"_And I imagine that you kids are familiar with those that have been exposed to its death energy, correct?" Xerosic shot back._

_Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie recalled the past memories of their journey together that involved encounters with the Destruction Pokémon. The living beings that were exposed to its energy or struck down by its Oblivion Wing were petrified and rendered into inanimate stone. Only the healing powers of life granted by Xerneas could restore the victims to their normal selves. _

"_So then, Ash and Pikachu weren't turned to stone," Serena surmised. "But then, why are they gone?"_

"_And this is that main clincher," Xerosic resumed. "When your friend's Pikachu damaged one of our machines and destroyed a routing crystal, we needed to substitute that crystal or else the leaking death energy would've blown us all to kingdom come."_

"_What did you use as the replacement?" Clemont urged._

"_We extracted a shard out of an orb recently discovered from one of our expeditions," Xerosic explained. "I researched the properties of this mysterious orb, but I didn't want to believe my findings. We somehow wound up lucky finding a rare orb like this."_

"_Spill it!" Bonnie demanded. "What orb is it?!"_

"_It was none other than the Adamant Orb," Xerosic concluded gravely. "How an orb like this ended up in the Kalos region, I will never know."_

"_Wait a minute," Clemont intervened. "The Adamant Orb is a special orb that is related to the legendary Pokémon that controls time, Dialga."_

"_Clemont, you don't think that Team Flare got it from Désert City, do you?" Bonnie asked. "That was where we saw Dialga and a whole bunch of other cool Pokémon!" _

"_That doesn't matter now," Clemont responded. "I understand what's going on now. So you're saying that because you used a shard from the Adamant Orb to replace the one Ash and Pikachu destroyed, then there's a possibility that when the ultimate weapon's attack struck them, it didn't kill them, but sent them into a different time period?"_

"_You're a brilliant boy to quickly piece the possibility like that in a short amount of time," Xerosic commended._

"_But how does that even work?" Serena prompted._

"_Because the Adamant Orb is tied into Dialga, chances are that it also has the same time-controlling properties it has, although not by much," Clemont explained. "Yveltal's energy must've magnified its time-warping properties and must've opened a temporal wormhole that pulled Ash and Pikachu in. That's why there was no trace of them when the beam hit, no scorch marks on the floor. Nothing!"_

"_I have nothing else to say now, but with this information, you're free to do as you please," Xerosic parted as he finally allowed himself to be taken away by the authorities._

_Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon all exchanged looks with each other. They all shared the same thought and desire. Even if it was small, it was better than nothing._

"_He's out there somewhere," Serena voiced. "I'm going to find him. I'll rescue him this time."_

"_We still don't know where he was sent from the attack," Clemont reminded. _

"_He could've been sent maybe a few hours into the future," Serena suggested earnestly._

"_Or maybe a few years into the future," Clemont added. "He could even be stuck in the past."_

"_Will you stop being such a pessimist?" Serena admonished. "He's not dead! And I'm not going to give up on him this time!"_

"_I'm not trying to persuade you from not saving Ash, but we still need to be smart about this," Clemont replied gingerly. "We don't have a lead so far. And plus, you still have your last Showcase to do in order to qualify for the Master Class."_

"_Saving Ash is top priority now," Serena declared. "I want him to see me become Kalos Queen before anything else."_

"_But holding off your dream now for his sake wouldn't be something he'd approve of," Clemont reasoned, much to the honey-blond-haired girl's growing frustration._

"_Serena, I think Clemont's right," Bonnie spoke up sincerely._

"_What… What are you saying then?" Serena questioned, astonished that Bonnie, of all people, would disagree with her on an important matter like this._

"_Look, I've been looking forward this whole journey to see you become Kalos Queen after Aria as much as I wanted to see Ash win the Kalos League, as well as get my brother a wife," Bonnie admitted. "But Ash wants us to go after our dreams no matter what. You and your Pokémon made it this far, Serena. You should at least finish what you started before going out into the unknown and chase after Ash."_

_The way Bonnie had worded her last sentence made Serena blush involuntarily._

"_I guess you're right," Serena mumbled softly. _

"_It's like Ash always says, 'Never give up until the end,'" Bonnie quoted cheerfully. "You're almost there, Serena. At least become Kalos Queen while Clemont and I are with you."_

_The Vaniville Town Performer carefully pondered Bonnie's words. Reflecting on their recent conversation, she saw how selfish and impatient she was in quickly discarding her current dream for the sake of one person that helped her find that dream in the first place. She was apparently very distraught from Ash's sudden departure to the point that she hadn't been thinking straight. _

_Then again, it had been a rather short interval since the awful incident. Who could blame her?_

"_I'm not fond of the idea, but this is for Ash," Serena concluded, looking up to her friends and Pokémon with a new resolve burning in her blue eyes. "I'll practice hard for the coming Showcase and earn my last Princess Key. Then once I win the Master Class and become Kalos Queen, I'll move on to my next goal of finding Ash, wherever and whenever he is."_

"_I have to say, you're really determined to be together with him," Clemont commented offhandedly._

"_As usual, you don't get it, big brother," Bonnie sighed._

"_Get what?" Clemont responded._

"_Never mind that now," Serena interrupted, pointing towards Ash's remaining Pokémon. "What about them? They just lost their Trainer and have nowhere to go. I'm really sorry I forgot about you guys."_

_The Pokémon dismissed it, showing how much of Ash's influence was still in them as they were still quick to forgive and forget. Serena managed a smile on how gracious they all were. Her Braixen approached Frogadier and offered a hand to him._

"_Brai-Braixen?" Braixen offered._

"_Dier," Frogadier replied, which made the Fox Pokémon look like she was about to leap with joy._

_Braixen then ran up to Serena, communicating something that she didn't really understand at first, but deduced the proposal from their previous actions and reactions. She gazed upon Frogadier, thinking that aside from Pikachu, he resembled Ash the closest out of all of his current Pokémon despite all sharing his inherited personality traits._

"_You want Frogadier to join us and Frogadier is cool with it?" Serena guessed, to which Braixen nodded affirmatively. She then directed herself towards the Bubble Frog Pokémon. "Well, I can't be your official Trainer, but I'm more than happy to look after you if that's what you want."_

"_Dier-Dier," Frogadier croaked, walking over to them to confirm the decision._

"_That takes care of Frogadier's status, but what about you guys?" Clemont inquired. _

"_Haw-Hawlu-cha," Hawlucha grunted, pantomiming the action of searching along with Fletchinder and Noibat._

"_I get it," Clemont surmised. "You want to go find Ash on your own. That means you'll be back in the wild for now until you find him again."_

"_Are you sure?" Bonnie asked reluctantly. "You guys can be with us and even stay at our house at the end of our journey. We can have lots of fun together!"_

"_Dene-Dene!" Dedenne agreed eagerly._

_To their disappointment, the three Flying-type Pokémon shook their heads no. With no Trainer around, they really have no obligations to no one. But these three were fiercely loyal towards Ash to the very end and were determined to find him._

"_That sounds like a plan," Serena remarked. "But we've still got to stay in touch with you just in case you do find Ash."_

"_Leave it to me," Clemont mediated confidently, adjusting his glasses. "I'll invent the perfect invention to keep the bonds of communication open between us and them. The future is now, thanks to science!"_

* * *

"So then, Frogadier was supposed to be with Serena," Anabel mused. "What happened to her?"

"Serena did succeed and achieved her dream of becoming Kalos Queen," Clemont explained. "However, she left it soon after to fulfill her promise of finding Ash. Bonnie and I wanted to help her, but she wanted us to go our separate ways. She also said it would cover more ground if we looked about elsewhere. And as for why Frogadier is here now, I'm not sure."

"Frogadier, what happened to Serena?" Anabel asked.

The Bubble Frog Pokémon turned his head away. The Salon Maiden took a good look at him to discover that he was blanching. Anabel held a hand to her mouth, sensing the dark and uncomfortable emotions Frogadier seemed to be projecting at the moment.

"Well?" Ash prompted.

"For some reason, Frogadier doesn't want to share," Anabel relayed. "I imagine something not good happened. But we really need to know."

"Froug-Froug-adier," Frogadier responded with heavy refusal.

"'I'm not ready to say at the moment, I'm sorry,' was what Frogadier said," Anabel translated.

"How do you know what it's saying?" Clemont inquired.

"It's a special ability some people are born with, like those with psychic powers," Professor Sycamore answered in her stead. "Salon Maiden Anabel of the Kanto Battle Tower is one of the few individuals known with this power of empathy, being able to sense a Pokémon's feelings and effectively communicate with them. It's as close to being psychic as you can get as she's capable of relaying mental orders to her Pokémon. It's so marvelous."

"Hey, Clemont," Ash spoke up.

"Yeah, Ash?" Clemont replied.

"So this Serena girl, the way you described her and what she did, was she like my girlfriend or something?"

The next few moments in the room fell into a very awkward silence. Clemont gaped goofily, having realized Serena's feelings for Ash when they parted ways after the Master Class Showcase. Anabel gave the Pallet Town Trainer an incredulous look, all the while blushing at the same time. Pikachu and Frogadier exchanged deadpan looks. Professor Sycamore coughed on his tea. Sophie robotically cleaned up the mess he made. Alain blinked several times before finding new fascination upon the bookcase next to him.

As if it wasn't painfully obvious at this point…

"… Uh… She considered you to be a _special_ friend," Clemont managed to say. "You just didn't pick up on how _special_ you were to her."

"Special, huh?" Ash repeated. "How so?"

"That does not surprise me," Anabel sighed with a shrug.

"So… you lost contact with her?" Ash continued.

"Unfortunately we did after a year or so since splitting up, though I should still be in contact with your other Pokémon," Clemont confessed. "That year, Bonnie was about to leave for her own Pokémon journey so she wanted to see Serena before she left. We managed to get in touch with her via holo-phone, but when we saw her through the screen, she just seemed so different. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was both amazing and worrying at the same time. All I can say is that she changed, Ash."

"What did you do after you parted ways?"

"Bonnie still wanted to see the Kalos League, so I took her there. We found a couple of the rivals you made from your journey, mainly Tierno and Sawyer. Tierno made it to the Top Eight, but Sawyer fell to the Top Sixteen because he had trouble controlling Sceptile after it Mega Evolved."

"Wait, Sceptile, you say?"

Ash then took out a Poké Ball and released his Sceptile into the room for all to see. The Forest Pokémon coolly adjusted the twig in his mouth and crossed his arms.

"Ash, I didn't know you owned a Sceptile," Professor Sycamore commented, appearing in awe of the powerful Grass-type Pokémon standing before him. "Sceptile is one of the known Pokémon that is capable of Mega Evolution."

"With the right Mega Stone, the Sceptilite, Sceptile can become Mega Sceptile," Alain added. "A mighty dragon guardian of the forest, indeed."

"Hey, having a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve could be very useful in our journey in recovering your memories, Ash," Anabel suggested. "I've read a bit on Mega Evolution that it'll require two stones: a Mega Stone like Alain said and a Key Stone. We just need to find those Stones and Sceptile can achieve Mega Evolution."

"Then take my Key Stone for starters," Alain offered, removing a black ring bracelet which contained a rainbow-colored round stone with a peculiar DNA strand mark on it from his wrist.

"Alain, are you sure about this?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"It's the least I can do for him after the trouble I caused him those years ago with Team Flare and all," Alain confessed. "Besides, I'll just borrow the Key Stone you have. I'm sure Garchomp will be fine not having to Mega Evolve for a while."

Ash stood up and accepted the offered Mega Ring, staring into the unique Key Stone embedded upon it. A strange sensation filled him, only to cease when he felt Anabel lean against him to see the Key Stone for herself.

"That's one Key Stone down," Anabel said as though she was marking a mental checklist. "Now we just need to find Sceptile's Mega Stone."

"Sad to say, I have no Sceptilite in the premises," Professor Sycamore admitted. "You'll have to look for it on your journey. Speaking of which, I also have a huge favor to ask you guys."

"What is it?" Ash inquired as he wore the Mega Ring on his left wrist.

"Alain and I have been keeping tabs of suspicious movement taking place throughout the Kalos region," Professor Sycamore began.

"After the encounters with them today, there's no doubt that Team Flare is up to no good again," Alain continued. "Though I should say that they're now called 'Neo Team Flare.' And they'll most likely attempt to carry forth their original plans for 'world purification' or something of the sort and resurrect the ultimate weapon."

"Wait, are you guys about to ask what I think you're asking?" Clemont intervened suspiciously.

"With them making themselves public once more, there's no doubt about it, Clemont," Professor Sycamore confirmed. "They've likely managed to capture Yveltal again or are planning to. In this case, we need to fight back with the right power. We have to prepare to take them down once and for all."

"What's going on?" Ash asked warily. "This sounds like a repeat of Clemont's story."

"Yes, but there is something else that Clemont didn't mention from that story that I told him not to, but in this case, I'll allow it," Professor Sycamore elucidated. "Somehow, I feel that this will tie in to your journey in regaining your memories and present the possibility sending you back into your proper time period."

"Clemont, what else happened from that time you and the others took down Team Flare?" Anabel brought up.

"With Professor Sycamore giving me permission to share, I guess I have no other choice," Clemont remarked. "Long story short, before we left Team Flare's headquarters, we needed to free Yveltal from the ultimate weapon. Xerneas had reawakened for that purpose alone, freeing it and allowing it to go its own way without trouble. It then foretold another incident like this happening in the future and passed on these eight strange objects to us in order to call upon it if that time came around."

"I barely came into the scene when I finally caught up with them," Professor Sycamore continued. "These eight objects are called the Life Branches of Xerneas, plucked from its own magnificent antlers. As Clemont said, when they come together, they'll call upon the power of Xerneas to counter Yveltal's force of destruction."

"Where are these eight Life Branches then?" Ash inquired.

"We decided to safeguard them by keeping them separate in order to prevent all eight from falling into the wrong hands," Professor Sycamore clarified. "By order of the Pokémon League Committee, each Branch is under the protection of a Gym Leader here in Kalos. Only the case for Lumiose City, the Life Branch here is co-protected by me and Clemont. We both have the keys to unlock it from its case."

"Why are you sending us on a quest to collect the Life Branches?" Anabel asked. "You do know Ash doesn't have any memories of Kalos to go on and he doesn't belong in this time."

"I have a theory that the reason why Ash's memories are currently blocked is because of Yveltal's energy during the ultimate weapon attack," Professor Sycamore explained. "It didn't end his life probably due to the Adamant Orb shard's influence, but there might've been enough power to at least affect his memory. Maybe with some exposure to Xerneas's power in the Life Branches, he might regain them."

"It's worth a shot," Ash concurred. "Besides, I don't want to have anyone else go through that ordeal that I apparently went through."

"Well, if you really strongly about it, then I'll support you one-hundred percent along the way, Ash," Anabel professed. "I already made it this far with you to Kalos. I told you I'd be sticking by your side until you get your memories back and this mess is over."

"Thanks, Anabel," Ash praised. "You're a true friend."

The Salon Maiden couldn't help but blush from his sincere words. Clemont took careful note of it before glancing back at Ash.

"Hey, there's something I want to ask you, but first, we need to go to Prism Tower," Clemont said. "The Life Branch that Professor Sycamore and I are guarding is kept within a protected and well-insulated underground chamber. Only he and I have the keys to access it."

"Marvelous!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "Let's head over now."

On that note, Ash, Anabel, Pikachu, Frogadier, Clemont, Professor Sycamore, and Alain went over together to Prism Tower, which functioned as the Lumiose City Gym. Clemont guided them into a secret passageway once inside the Gym. He and Professor Sycamore then performed the necessary credentials in order to allow access to the protected Life Branch that waited on the other side.

The reinforced steel doors unlocked themselves and gave way for the group to see. The light from within the formerly sealed chamber brightened until a pedestal became visible for everyone to see. Upon the pedestal rested an artifact resembling a long fallen tree branch that gave off a multicolored glow and resonated a soothing aura within its radius.

"The Life Branch of Xerneas, just like when we were entrusted with its care the first day," Clemont stated.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Professor Sycamore concurred.

They lead the rest into the chamber. It was interesting to note that in contrast with the rest of the Gym above ground, the interior designing was simple and carved out of rock instead of industrial steel. Professor Sycamore went on ahead to retrieve the Life Branch and observe its beauty up close.

"Ash, I have something that I wanted to ask you now," Clemont voiced before anything else. "Would it be alright if I joined you on your new journey?"

"That was a bit unexpected," Anabel commented.

"What brought up the idea?" Ash asked.

"You've taught me so much during our first journey through Kalos, so much so I was able to apply it in both my Gym battles and in my inventions," Clemont explained. "You have no idea how much I grew from it, but I never had a chance to truly thank you for letting me travel with you. Now that I'm stronger and more competent, let me return the favor and help you recover your memories and send you back to your proper place in time."

"I've got nothing against it," Ash replied. "What about you, Anabel?"

"None from me," Anabel answered cheerily. "I think we're going to need as much help as we can get at this rate."

"Looks like you're in, Clemont," Ash concluded with an eager grin. "I'm glad to work with you again, even if I don't remember the first time."

"I guarantee you'll remember both times," Clemont responded, holding out a hand for Ash to clasp and shake.

Frogadier went closer to Ash and pulled on his pants leg to get his attention. He was saying something that the Pallet Town Trainer was somehow able to get a gist of while Anabel understood his full intentions.

"Frogadier wants to rejoin you as well, Ash," Anabel affirmed. "He wants to make things right and be your Pokémon again. Aww! That's so nice. Frogadier has been truly loyal to you from the start."

"That Frogadier is one picky Pokémon that had multiple Trainers in the past, but didn't like any of them," Alain clarified. "I have no doubt that Frogadier resonated well with Ash and would want to go back to him."

"Cool, it looks like we have two new allies," Ash said to Pikachu. "I guess I should say 'old' allies, but you get the idea."

He was caught off guard when Frogadier leapt into his arms to give him a big hug. Ash fell on his bottom, but nonetheless, the company shared a few friendly laughs over the heartwarming reunion between Trainer and Pokémon.

"I'm pleased to see things working out among all of you," Professor Sycamore announced, presenting the Life Branch before Ash. The others crowded around him to behold its radiant power. "This is going to be the last time I'll ever get to see this marvelous beauty. Take good care of it and collect the remaining seven."

"You can count on me, Professor," Ash replied, taking the Life Branch into his own hands.

A mystical sensation struck Ash's head upon touch. Before his mind's eye, he saw himself in a somewhat younger age wearing different clothing consisting of an open vest and red-and-white cap with a peculiar symbol on front. He proudly held up a Poké Ball in the air.

"_I will be the very best like no one ever was!"_

_That was me… during the earliest days of my Pokémon journey,_ Ash recounted as the precious associated memories became clear as day once again.

* * *

_**You Got a Life Branch!**_

* * *

**Just to stay on track and to stay true to some **_**Super Paper Mario **_**elements, I'll throw in things like "You Got a Life Branch (Pure Heart, haha)" and "End of Chapter!" So as you've just read through my longest chapter yet here, the Life Branches of Xerneas will serve as the Pure Heart counterparts in this tale. Interesting (and somewhat original) concept, I hope.**

**The mentioned Désert City is the location where the Hoopa movie would take place, which also included all the legendary Pokémon showing up. So hopefully it wasn't too far of a stretch to say that Team Flare originally found the Adamant Orb there as Dialga made an appearance as one of the legendary Pokémon involved.**

**So where will they be heading now, you might be thinking? If you look back at the games, the order would be Santalune City. Ash, Anabel, and Clemont will be there within the next two chapters.**

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	7. 1-3) A Heart to Belong!

"That is what happened on the mission, Leader."

"A pair of brats, plus Alain, got in our way of retrieving that Frogadier."

The room was barely lit. The two Neo Flare Grunts were each on a knee with their heads bowed low as an attempt for forgiveness. A day had passed since their failure in retrieving the Frogadier. They had returned to their hidden headquarters underground to report in and stand accountable before their Leader.

The two cowering Grunts were expecting one of the worst punishments to be passed upon their heads, considering of the degree of significance of their mission. Minor punishments were given out by the Leader's right hand man, Xerosic, who was not present for this meeting. With such a dreadful circumstance, they expected themselves to burn until their flesh would become numb.

They saw a gesture wave up, expecting the literal fire to rain upon their miserable souls, until another hand seemed to have gotten in the way, wordlessly persuading the first to stand down. The Grunts were very fearful for their lives at that moment as the room somehow fell into an even deeper and dreadful level of silence.

From the shadows casted upon their Leader, a dark force from out of nowhere immediately consumed them. They couldn't see it coming, but the chilling sensation was rendering their ability to stay conscious. They couldn't even scream for long before the darkness caused them to fall completely on the floor.

A feral growl was heard in the back, presumably behind the Leader.

"I know it hurts, dear," the Leader whispered softly. "But this new world won't give us such pain anymore."

"I assume that you've finished dealing their punishment?" a voice inquired wryly as footsteps were heard walking in.

"Xerosic, you may take them away," the Leader stated.

"I think that might have been too disproportionate of retribution, don't you think?" Xerosic followed up.

"Be grateful that you were freed from imprisonment," the Leader responded coolly. "You and the other former Flare Scientists together."

"Not all of us were captured, you know," Xerosic retorted, gesturing to his Malamar to use Psychic to levitate the bodies away. "A couple of them escaped and I heard one really did reform and is now living a normal life. I'm surprised you didn't issue a warrant for her capture as well."

"I can get enough work down with the four of you," the Leader explained. "If I needed additional assistance, I would have done so by now."

Even Malamar shared in its Trainer's reluctance in serving their new Leader while carrying away the bodies of the failed Grunts. Xerosic sighed while a door opened before them, allowing in light from the hallway to enter. Two individuals came in through the doorway.

"Oh my, did we just miss the show?" Celosia jested.

"It's not that funny, Celosia," Bryony argued. "You know our Leader wouldn't resort to _that_ punishment unless we really screw up royally on a very important mission."

"But you have to admit that it _is_ funny when the lives of others are at stake because of their own stupid mistakes," Celosia added.

"I suppose," Bryony mumbled.

"If you two are done bickering, please get over here so we can begin our meeting," Xerosic announced. "… Wait a minute. You're missing someone."

"We can discuss making the new world without Aliana," Bryony huffed. "Let's get on with it now."

"Anxious, aren't we, Bryony," Celosia giggled. "And here I thought your ideal world would be filled with muscular men and cute shiny Pokémon."

"Hey! Were you taking peeks in my diary again?!"

"You really shouldn't just leave it in the middle of the coffee table, where any wondering eye could just read it like a shameless Gengar doing the jig at the stroke of midnight."

"Why you little!"

"Girls, enough!" the Leader intervened, much to Xerosic's astonishment. "I don't need to subject you the same punishment as the Grunts before you, do I?"

"No, Leader," Bryony and Celosia muttered lowly.

"Anyway, more to the point of this meeting, it turns out in regards to the Grunts' failure in Lumiose City, there were a couple of interloping brats that had caused it," Xerosic began.

"And why should we care what a couple of kids are doing?" Celosia asked sardonically. "You know, aside from them ruining our plans to cleanse this imperfect world the first time around?"

"It's because they met up with Alain and presumably, Professor Sycamore," Xerosic continued ominously.

"Sorry I'm late!" a new voice shouted while charging in from the doorway. "That elevator was having difficulties, so I took the long way down. Did I miss anything?"

"You're just in time, Aliana," Xerosic assured. "As I was saying, we have a couple of public enemies that have met up with Alain and Professor Sycamore. I have no reason to doubt that they're sending them into action by collecting Xernea's Life Branches to stop us."

"Is it true that we've caught that Yveltal again?" Aliana asked.

"Just not too long ago," Bryony answered.

"And right as it was going to sleep like a defenseless little baby sitting in its detaining crib," Celosia added. "Our forces were strong enough to subdue it and force it back into its protective cocoon."

"Ah, that's right," Aliana agreed, recalling those fleeting moments. "And we're reusing Yveltal to power the ultimate weapon back up? What makes you guys think that we won't be stopped by a couple of kids again?"

"Because we've prepared for that contingency this time around," Xerosic explained. "We've sent our soldiers out to patrol Kalos for any signs of moving resistance. With the first sign spotted in Lumiose City, we can assume that they've gotten a hold of the Life Branch there and are going to make their way to one of the closer cities that has the next."

"My guess is Santalune City," the Leader proposed.

"What makes you predict that Santalune City is the next direction the so-called heroes are making their way to, my Leader?" Celosia asked with amusement.

"A hunch."

"It's an impressive hunch, to say the least."

"Celosia, do you dare question our Leader's judgment?" Xerosic warned.

"No, I was merely curious on what prompted that decision, that is all," Celosia said. "So to make up for my prying curiosity, would I be the one to be sent to deal with these punks?"

"Aliana will be the one to head them off at Santalune City," the Leader declared.

"Got it!" Aliana bellowed eagerly. "My tough Pokémon will introduce them to its two allies, Slappie and Fist Jr."

"Seriously, where did you come up with those names?" Bryony mocked. "It's not like there's another universe whose concepts we're borrowing."

"Perhaps I can still come along just so I can catch some action," Celosia suggested. "Seeing as I missed the past punishment, I can entertain myself in watching our Aliana in thrashing these kids. Plus, my Pokémon can take us there within an instant, saving us a trip in having to walk all the way there."

"Leader?" Xerosic prompted. "It's your call. I see no reason for not allowing this."

There was a brief, unsettling pause that hung in their meeting room. Aliana and Bryony were nervous while Celosia remained expectant. Xerosic was tapping his fingers together while his Malamar returned from its previous task of disposing the Grunts.

"Very well," the Leader spoke. "Stop whoever is meddling in our affairs."

"We won't let you down!" Aliana and Celosia exclaimed, giving a formal salute before taking their leave.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Ash and Anabel have met with Professor Sycamore, as well as a former traveling friend of Ash's from the past, Clemont. They learned of his previous confrontation against Team Flare five years ago, in which the blast from the ultimate weapon, influenced with the time-warping powers that the Adamant Orb inherited from the legendary Dialga, had sent Ash and Pikachu into the future.

In addition, the destructive properties of Yveltal's energy that the ultimate weapon used had also locked away their memories. Only upon powerful reactions to certain stimuli, such as exposure to Xernea's power, would parts of the memory block be removed.

It was then that Professor Sycamore decided to have Ash collect the remaining Life Branches of Xerneas to not only restore his and Pikachu's memories, but to also combat against the rising threat of Neo Team Flare. He and Anabel have already obtained the Life Branch guarded in Lumiose City. Alain also lent his power via a Mega Ring to allow Ash the opportunity to experience Mega Evolution for himself with Sceptile once they find a Sceptilite Mega Stone.

The studious Clemont wanted to rejoin with Ash as a way to make up for all the great life lessons he learned from their first journey together. He felt that his prior knowledge from traveling Kalos, as well as his improved capacity in inventing, would surely come in hand in their quest. In such a case, his top invention, the Clembot, would return to the full-time Gym Leader position for the Lumiose City Gym.

The last detail to recap would be the elusive Frogadier that escaped capture from a couple of Neo Flare Grunts. This Frogadier happened to be one of Ash's Pokémon in the Kalos region before being left behind with the rest from the ultimate weapon attack. But now, he was the first to reunite with his beloved Trainer. According to Clemont's reluctant recount, he was originally adopted into Serena's team, but something unpleasant seemed to have happened to her in which Frogadier was left to his own devices and was found to be sought be Neo Team Flare. When asked about what happened to Serena, the Bubble Frog Pokémon just was not in the mood to talk about it.

It was worrying to think about what happened to a strong and thoughtful girl like her, as far as Clemont remembered from the last time he saw her. But he figured that with Ash back, along with Anabel's assistance, they would also find out what happened to her since she was really determined to find Ash again after claiming the title of Kalos Queen.

The group had been traveling along Route 4 on the way to Santalune City. The traveling was overall pleasant for the most part. They passed plenty of wild Pokémon, as well as a few Trainers. Fortunately, no one of significance paid too much attention to them or discovered Ash's reappearance in Kalos.

"I remember the first time we went through this path together, Ash," Clemont began with fondness. "Around these parts, you caught a Fletchling and then some time after, I caught a Dedenne for my sister. Those two are together now that Bonnie is old enough to be a Pokémon Trainer."

"So my second Kalos Pokémon is Fletchling then?" Ash asked.

"It evolved into Fletchinder," Clemont clarified. "In addition, you also had a Hawlucha and a Noibat. I wonder where they all are now. After the Team Flare incident, I know that they decided to stay together and look for you out in the wild."

"Clemont, didn't you say you have some sort of invention that kept track of their locations?" Anabel inquired.

At the offhanded behest of the Salon Maiden, Clemont nearly tripped over during their walk upon realizing how foolish he was right now. In all the excitement of seeing Ash alive and getting to travel with him again, he forgot that he was also keeping track of his remaining Kalos Pokémon.

"I'm glad that you reminded me, Anabel, because the future is now, thanks to science!" Clemont declared enthusiastically, pulling out a compact screen pad from his backpack. It was black, had two control sticks at either side, as well as a small assortment of buttons about the sides of the screen. "Clemontic Gear, on! Meet one of my most successful inventions up to date, running smoothly for five years without a single hitch: the Find-Feathered-Friend Radar! This, in conjunction with special trackers I placed on Ash's Flying-type Pokémon before we went our separate ways, allows me to find their location at any time using sophisticated satellite communication."

"It's very convenient, though the name isn't very… potent," Anabel commented rather awkwardly.

"I never knew how much science can be so amazing," Ash remarked as he and Pikachu were staring at the device with rapt admiration.

"Amnesia or not, at least you still appreciate my inventions for what they are," Clemont added fondly, placing a thumb over the power button down on the bottom right side. "Now, activate!"

Ash and Anabel were around him, watching as the screen turned out and the outline of the Kalos region had immediately shown up on screen. A grid appeared upon the screen to divide the region into small square sectors. A loading symbol emerged from a corner of the screen while a certain part of the region was being zoomed in upon. The processing of zooming in took a few seconds until three distinctive red dots were found.

"Is that them?" Anabel asked.

"Yes, and it looks like they're close by Cyllage City, more specifically on the route between it and Camphrier Town," Clemont followed up. "This is perfect. Once we get the Life Branch from Santalune City, we can head over there next. That's where you won your second Badge, Ash."

"Cyllage City, huh?" Ash mused. "I guess it won't be long now until I meet these guys."

"They're not just any 'guys,' you know," Clemont responded. "These three Pokémon were just as determined as Serena to find where you went. It's been fortunate that I've done a better job keeping track of them. For the most part, they actually left the Kalos region at some point and explored other regions together in hopes to find you. I guess they decided to return here."

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting any longer," Ash proclaimed with a fist held high. "Onwards!"

"Onwards!" Anabel and Clemont joined in.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

* * *

Santalune City was not too far from Lumiose City. Route 4 was fairly basic to navigate around and the wild Pokémon generally minded their own business unless engaged by other Pokémon or Trainers. At the rate they were going right now, the young group of heroes estimated their arrival by eventide. They hoped that they would be able to catch up with Ash's remaining Kalos Pokémon before they migrated to another location.

At the meantime, Clemont continued to regale Ash and Pikachu with several more tales from their past together, starting when they first met at Lumiose City. Anabel listened in with curiosity, but she still couldn't help but feel a bit left out. She only knew Ash for a couple of days while he was challenging the Kanto Battle Frontier years ago and just barely met Clemont.

The feeling of isolation was familiar and unwelcomed, but the Salon Maiden learned to deal with it rather well. She also figured that Ash and Pikachu had been experiencing this feeling since they were flung into the future. She was grateful that they still have friends here that were willing to help them out. It really showed how great their characters were prior to this situation, and it was proof enough that they were trustworthy enough to help.

There was also the fact that her feelings for the amnesiac boy still held despite all this time apart, even with the established age difference from the time traveling. Anabel would still admit liking him, but wondered that if this interaction would result in anything with Ash.

If they did succeed in taking down Neo Team Flare's uprising threat and sending him back to his correct time, would their interactions reflect on his future behavior with her?

Would he seek her out once he would finish his Kalos journey?

Would his heart belong to her after all of this, just as parts of hers belonged to him? She already felt that the more time she spent in his company, a greater percentage of her heart was going to him. It wouldn't be long until her heart might truly belong to him.

These side thoughts entertained her during the traveling as she listened in to Clemont's stories at the same time. However, there was one thing that still bothered her.

The other companion Ash had aside from Clemont and his little sister, Bonnie.

The girl named Serena.

Anabel was able to pick up the context regarding Serena's role in the past, how supportive she was towards Ash, how much she had learned from his example, and how he helped her find a dream in becoming Kalos Queen. In addition, Clemont had attempted to explain to Ash that he knew her before he started his journey at a summer camp.

It just seemed too convenient for the Vaniville Town Performer to already be at such a close level of friendship with him.

Maybe it was a woman instinct, but Anabel felt that she could perceive what Serena's feelings were and have been for Ash despite not meeting her herself.

What would they do once they do find her during the journey?

"Not so fast, you kids!" an abrupt, feminine voice shouted.

The trio was pulled out of their ongoing thoughts and conversations to see an orange-haired woman wearing a peculiar dress uniform, in which the colors practically matched that composing of the Neo Flare Grunts' style. She also wore rather advanced goggles upon her face.

"Judging from how you look, I think I actually know who you are," Clemont spoke up, stepping forward and assuming a defensive stance. "Don't tell me…"

"It's funny," the woman began. "Neo Team Flare has barely begun its operations, and yet you are already aware on what we're up to. We've gotten a bit careless in masking our activity, but no matter."

"If you're with Neo Team Flare, then who are you?" Ash demanded.

"I'm one of the high-ranking officers and scientists for the resurrected Neo Team Flare, Aliana is my name," Aliana announced with a flashy pose. "So you kids got in the way of our soldiers attempting to recapture a Pokémon that escaped from us, a Frogadier if I'm not mistaken."

"That Frogadier actually happens to be mine," Ash rebuffed.

"Wait, so how did Team Flare come across Frogadier?" Anabel inquired.

"This isn't sounding good, as far as I ponder about it," Clemont remarked.

"Such things don't matter at this time, but what matters now is that I'm going to take back that Frogadier and stop you children from interfering with our Leader's ideals," Aliana avowed.

"But do you even realize what your Leader is planning to do with Kalos in the first place?" Anabel proposed.

"All I know is that it won't be only Kalos affected by the ultimate weapon, but we'll be bringing order to this crazy world once it reaches full power," Aliana explained without hesitation, taking out a Poké Ball. "I'm afraid I can't let you go any further to collect those Life Branches, or whatever they're supposed to be that would stop Yveltal's destructive power from reaching maximum level."

"Oh, no, it's just like Professor Sycamore and Alain warned us about," Clemont murmured. "Neo Team Flare must've recaptured Yveltal and is storing up its energy to use for the ultimate weapon once again. But having an early lead like this would allow them more power to store and use at their disposal, especially when considering the possibility that they've learned from their past mistakes."

"Why are you doing this?" Ash questioned. "Who is your Leader?"

"Our new Leader is more blunt, ruthless, and colder than our previous Leader, Lysandre," Aliana continued, a look of fear casted upon her face. "Coming out of nowhere, singlehandedly gathering the former scientists back together, including Xerosic, and building the broken Team Flare into Neo Team Flare within a couple of years, our Leader is someone not to be trifled with." The fearful expression was soon replaced by that of dizzying admiration. "But, man, the Leader's ability to sway us to the cause got me onboard."

"I don't think she's willing to listen to reason," Anabel whispered to Ash.

"I remember she was pretty hot-tempered," Clemont added inconspicuously.

"Hmm, you look a bit familiar, blond boy," Aliana mused after a quick scan over the Lumiose City Gym Leader. "You look like this traitorous scumbag I was once together with. I never really got over the fact that he cheated on me." Clemont was not sure how else to react aside from gaping fretfully over the lookalike happenstance as Aliana continued her hard glare. "This is perfect for me to unleash my rage on you all! For Neo Team Flare!"

She tossed a Poké Ball high into the air, unleashing upon her foes the power of her Pignite. It gave a hefty snort of cinders before taking up a somewhat daunting fighting stance.

"Hey, I have that Pokémon back at Professor Oak's lab," Ash commented.

"She must've caught a Pignite at some point," Clemont pondered.

"Remember that Pignite is a Fire and Fighting-type," Anabel advised. "I believe that Frogadier would be a wise matchup."

"Sounds good to me," Ash concurred, taking out his Water-type Pokémon's Poké Ball. "Frogadier, I choose you!"

The Bubble Frog Pokémon emerged with arms raised up, living up to his inherit ninja fighting style. Though it could not be seen, Aliana had blinked a few times while leaning closer to see the Pokémon.

"Well, I'll be, that's the Frogadier we sent those Grunts after," Aliana commented. "I can't believe you brats managed to capture it. Regardless, I'll put an end to you before you do any more damage to Neo Team Flare's plans!"

"Get ready, everyone!" Clemont warned.

* * *

_Ash &amp; Frogadier VS Aliana &amp; Pignite_

* * *

"Pignite, use Tackle!"

Pignite stampeded forward to mow down its designated opponent. However, given how slow it was running, Frogadier had effortlessly sidestepped to avoid getting hit. This only seemed to anger both the Fire Pig Pokémon and its Trainer.

Aliana issued out several more Tackle commands. Ash was not sure what to make out of her battle style as with her heated offensive tactics, combined with the slowness of Pignite, made her appear amateurish at best. He did not even need to command Frogadier to get out of the way.

"Clemont, you said that she was high-ranking in Team Flare?" Anabel inquired.

"I know what you're thinking, Anabel, but I really don't know what she's planning when she seems to be playing around like this," Clemont remarked. "But I believe that Ash and Frogadier shouldn't need our assistance right now."

"Now Pignite, Body Slam!"

The Fire Pig Pokémon leapt up fairly high in the air before preparing its hindquarters to crush its opponent. Frogadier quickly shuffled out the way right as Pignite landed with a heavy thud. Its recovery time seemed to have lessened as it quickly bounced up into the air and aimed its shadow upon the Bubble Frog Pokémon.

Knowing that they were not going to let up, Ash used his Pokédex to briefly look up the attacks that his Pokémon currently knew right now. He should've done this right after reuniting with his Pokémon.

Lesson learned.

"Frogadier, try an Aerial Ace!"

The hands and feet of his Pokémon illuminated with swift-striking, flighty power. Frogadier went up against an incoming Body Slam and struck, easily swatting Pignite out of the air and sending it headfirst into the ground.

Despite the super effective damage, Pignite was back on its feet in no time, heavily breathing small embers from its nose. It swung its arms out to energize and motivate itself back on track.

"That'd be the way, Pignite!" Aliana cheered on. "Show them your Strength!"

Pignite rolled into action, anticipating where Frogadier was about to land before quickly grabbing onto his ankles, much to his and everyone's surprise. A red aura exuded from Pignite's body as it twisted its upper body as far as it could before spinning back the other way and using the extra momentum from the windup to send Frogadier bouncing about after releasing its hold.

It was unfortunate that Frogadier was sent into a small grove of trees as from being thrown by Pignite, he ricocheted between branches and tree trunks before bouncing back into their battlefield. It looked like it hurt a lot.

All the while, Pignite and Aliana were celebrating their first successful attack by doing a bit of dancing that involved them momentarily shaking their rumps and grooving their arms together before synchronously doing a double clap and finishing with a fabulous pose.

"One hit they get in and already they think they're the winners," Anabel remarked drolly.

"The members of Team Flare think they have style with those outfits, but I guess the dance moves are new," Clemont added.

Frogadier stood up, brushing off the damage and dirt he accumulated from the rough attack. He sneered at his own carelessness and the fact that his opponents were flaunting over their lucky shot.

"Frogadier, use Cut!"

Conjuring a solid, glowing blade of his own energy, Frogadier swiftly dashed in to swipe at Pignite. He got a successful strike in, knocking Pignite off balance. Giving his blade another expert twirl, Frogadier attempted to get in one more hit.

A sinister glint sparkled from Pignite's eye as he used his pure physical power to absorb the next Cut swing and actually grab hold of Frogadier's blade. Before the Bubble Frog Pokémon could react, Pignite pulled Frogadier in and grabbed his blade-holding hand.

"Pignite, use Strength again!"

A repeat performance was inevitable as Frogadier was unable to get out of Pignite's grasp. The Fire Pig Pokémon prepared its windup and threw Frogadier as hard as it could, which turned out to be even harder than the first. Frogadier wound up rebounding off several rock peaks in addition to the trees and sturdy plant fauna around their area.

At the meantime, Aliana and Pignite celebrated their big hit with a few more flashy poses of them flexing their arms and showing off their muscles before doing a twirl and giving off one more buoyant stance to conclude.

Well, more on Pignite's case than with its Trainer.

"This is getting ridiculous," Ash muttered with a deadpan look.

"You're getting careless out there," Clemont called out.

"You got to wrap this up before Frogadier takes too heavy of a beating, Ash," Anabel added.

"We'll be the ones to finish this," Aliana taunted. "Pignite, squish that Frogadier with Body Slam! End it now!"

"Dodge and use Aerial Ace!"

Upon hearing his Trainer's voice, Frogadier became widely alert. In spite of the new wounds he received from that throw, he was able to pull himself together and avoid Pignite's landing altogether. While Pignite was momentarily stuck in the ground due to the Body Slam, Frogadier retaliated with a powered sweeping kick to the side, swatting the Fire Pig Pokémon down the field.

"Grah-googly!" Aliana coughed in astonishment. "Pignite, no!"

"Finish it with Water Pulse!"

Frogadier conjured a powerful water-based sphere and lobbed it Pignite's way before it could recover from its previous hit. The Water Pulse exploded upon contact into a forceful wave before evaporating into the air.

Pignite was not seen getting up any time after, evident with the swirling eyes it now bore.

"My Pignite's been chunked!" Aliana cried out, running to its aid.

"Way to go, Frogadier!" Ash cheered, to which his Pokémon humbly reciprocated.

The first battle against one of Neo Team Flare's Scientists was over and it had ended with a victory for the heroes. Aliana recalled her Pignite into its Poké Ball while the others had her surrounded with the intent of interrogating her some more.

"You better not go after Frogadier again," Anabel cautioned.

"Hey, I lost fair and square, alright?" Aliana rebutted, holding her hands up in surrender. "Even I have my standards. I was sent to stop you and nothing more. But seeing how powerful you kids are, I need to get even stronger to serve my Leader. Man, I know this failure is going to result in some unpleasant punishment, I'm sure of it."

"So it's safe to say that we would be expecting more of you guys trying to stop us," Clemont stated.

"It's only fair warning for me to agree with what you just said," Aliana said. "You said you dealt with us before, blondie. I'm sure you might be familiar with the other top Scientists in Neo Team Flare."

"I do know that there are five of you," Clemont answered. "And then there's your Leader, whoever he or she is."

"Hey, boy with the Pikachu," Aliana spoke up, addressing Ash. "I haven't had a good battle like that in a long time. It worked me over to a point that I can't even see straight. What's your name?"

"My name? It's Ash," Ash replied.

"'Alf,' you say?" Aliana responded, taking a few steps back. "That's a pretty interesting name for a guy."

"Didn't you hear him right?" Anabel intervened, mildly irate. "He said his name is Ash, not Alf."

Ash stared at the Salon Maiden, surprised to see how affronted she was in regards to his name. He probably was not as concerned due to his current amnesia, but she was certainly taking it more personally than he was.

"Whatever, I don't have time for this," Aliana brushed off, taking surreptitious sideways glances. _Where is that Celosia? I need her Pokémon to use Teleport to send me back to base. Oh, well… I guess I'll have to use Plan B this time._ She then took out another Poké Ball and released a Drifblim to her aid. "I'm getting out of here."

"Wait!" Clemont pleaded, but was ultimately ignored.

The orange-haired Scientist hopped on top of Drifblim as it lifted itself higher in the air. The young trio simply watched her make her rather slow getaway into the sky. They were unsure if they should actually stop her or not, considering how she was actually a pushover in the previous fight.

"Anchors away, Drifblim!" Aliana yelled. "Let her rip!"

_*FWIIIP*_

The expulsion of air from the Blimp Pokémon's lower region created a comically disturbing sound as it rocketed up into the air at a surprisingly fast speed. The liftoff display was one thing to behold, but the ousted sound of air from Drifblim's bottom had certainly left an awkward moment behind.

"So… do we take her seriously when we see her again?" Ash proposed to break the silence.

Clemont and Anabel merely stared at him while Pikachu and Frogadier sighed at the meantime.

The day was eventful and the traveling had come to an end as the group arrived in Santalune City at the evening, just as they had previously predicted. The city appeared to be at peace. It was unknown if Neo Team Flare had already infiltrated it, but as of right now, the heroes did not want to deal with such things as they were exhausted.

Despite having been able to defeat Aliana and her pumped-up Pignite, they were aware that Neo Team Flare was going to be focusing a good handful of attacks and traps upon their heads.

Who would know what else this tricky organization had in store?

They arrived at the Pokémon Center and made their sleeping arrangements for the night, as well as handed over their Pokémon to Nurse Joy for her to look after. Things started to wind down a bit after dinner, but the trio was still wary about future events.

Clemont was sure something would happen once they would meet up with the Gym Leader of Santalune City, Viola, and retrieve a Life Branch from her. Anabel reviewed the day's events to help herself prepare. And Ash and Pikachu simply stared out the window into the starry night sky, wondering if they would get all their memories back soon and stop this ongoing mess they've found themselves in.

Whatever would happen next, it was certainly going to be more exciting than the last.

* * *

**So how did you like (or not like) the personalities I gave to the returning Flare Scientists? This probably makes things a bit clearer for those that are aware of the plot of **_**Super Paper Mario**_**, but I would have to ask those that know not to spoil it just yet.**

**Of course in the games, their personalities came off as rather standard and ordinary. With additional traits I added into respective Scientists, it should make things a bit more entertaining, to say the least. Let's see if this trial and error turns out well.**

**Please review!**

**L-ater!**


	8. 1-4) The Santalune Sisters!

Ash, Anabel, and Clemont were able to arrive in Santalune City with little to no trouble along the way. The mentioned trouble was that in the form of the haughty Aliana of Neo Team Flare. She and her Pignite stood no chance against the teamwork of Ash and Frogadier. It was certainly amazing to note that even with most of his memories still locked away, Ash was still the remarkable Trainer he was from the past.

That was fortunately enough to help the group reach their destination and rest for the night at the Pokémon Center. The next day has shone over them, prompting them to finish what they came to Santalune City for.

And that was to find the Gym Leader, Viola, and convince her to part with the Life Branch she was protecting under the authorization of the Pokémon League Committee. Viola was a part-time photographer in addition of being a Bug-type specialist. She was often the recommended Gym Leader to challenge for beginners. In any case, she proved to be capable of upholding the high standards that the Pokémon League required of their Gym Leaders.

"Everybody up and ready?" Clemont asked.

Ash had just put on his red cap while Anabel dusted herself. Clemont took those as signs that they were indeed ready to move on to the Santalune City Gym.

"Let's get going," Ash urged, taking the lead as they left the Pokémon Center behind.

"Wait, do you know where you're going?" Anabel called out.

"Not a clue," Ash replied without turning around.

Clemont and Anabel couldn't help but smile awkwardly at each other. Ash was still true to his character when they first met him; that much, they were thankful for as it was. His amnesia was still a problem in regards to progressing in the right direction, but they were able to put up with it due to the bonds they shared. In any case, though, Ash was quick to adapt and move on.

"Hey, Ash, how about I just lead us to the Santalune Gym?" Clemont suggested. "It'll save us some time from wandering around and hopefully get an immediate advantage on Neo Team Flare."

"Sounds good to me," Ash responded, holding his hands up in a shrug. "Could we at least look around this place? Maybe it'll jog bit of my memory if I see some landmarks."

"I don't know," Clemont pondered cautiously.

"I'll admit that I'm also guilty in wanting to explore Santalune City for a bit before heading to the Gym," Anabel announced. "We should be fine. After all, Ash was able to deal with Aliana with little difficulty."

"Oh, all right," Clemont relented. "But we'll only cover a few significant landmarks. Then we'll head straight for the Santalune Gym."

"Yes!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu.

"Pii-Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Lead the way, tour guide," Anabel giggled.

"The things I do for you guys," Clemont mumbled, smiling inwardly as he took charge.

And so at the behest of his two foreign companions, Clemont steered Ash and Anabel through the scenic route through Santalune City. Truth be told, there was not anything interesting to show that would make this simple settlement any different or spectacular in comparison to Lumiose City.

Then again, it is more quaint and in tune to nature than that major city.

Clemont did lead the group to the water fountain where Ash made his declaration of conquering the Santalune City Gym, as well as where they first met Viola. The visit did not resonate with the Pallet Town Trainer, nor did it stir up any more locked memories.

However, the fountain did look pretty cool.

Part of him hoped that visiting this old spot would have roused a stronger reaction from Ash and Pikachu, but Clemont felt that it would have also been too good to be true if that plan had worked. That would pretty much defeat part of the purpose of collecting Xerneas's Life Branches, in which their life-giving power would counter the influence Yveltal left as a result of the ultimate weapon exposure.

But now, Professor Sycamore requested that they collect them to stop the rise of Neo Team Flare as they had made an open move. It would be sound to stop their threat for good if they hoped to restore Ash and Pikachu's memories and send them back to their proper place in time safely and without any sort of interference.

The Lumiose City Gym Leader had also been pondering to himself while leading Ash and Anabel towards the Santalune Gym. Truth be told, he had these thoughts since he rejoined Ash in this new journey.

He wondered with the hypothetical scenario that they did shut down Neo Team Flare for good and were successful in sending Ash and Pikachu back in time if their current timeline would cease to exist. Time travel theory has always been a complicated subject to study and dabble into. Change one little thing in the past and the future would be drastically altered.

If so, by how much would this future change?

Would Team Flare still attempt to wipe out all people and Pokémon?

Would a larger threat loom over in their place?

Would Serena still be around and in contact?

Clemont could not help but consider her in conjunction with Ash. They were almost always doing everything together throughout their first run through Kalos. He knew how much Serena looked up to Ash and vice versa. They served as each other's source of inspiration in their prospective dreams of becoming Kalos Queen and Pokémon Master.

He cringed upon the memory regarding the aftermath of Team Flare using the ultimate weapon. Ash and Pikachu were presumably killed by it and the time to mourn seemed nearly endless. Serena had given into vengeance and went on a rampage, effectively shutting down the remaining active factions of Team Flare before allowing overwhelming grief to calm her down. Clemont had to be the first to get over it in order to help his sister and his friend get over their despair.

Bonnie had fortunately been quick to recover after much sibling support. Serena, however, was a different story. Even though Xerosic of Team Flare had theorized of Ash and Pikachu being sent to a different timeline, which ultimately turned out to be true in this case, Serena still had difficulty coping to this drastic change.

It was only then that he learned that she had a deeper attachment to Ash than he had originally perceived. Even Bonnie figured it out quite a while back, but then again, that didn't come up as much of a surprise. Her innocently curious nature was bound to reward her efforts one way or another.

It took the combined efforts of the Lumiose City siblings to prevent Serena from throwing away her dream of becoming Kalos Queen in pursuit of the missing Ash by reassuring that he would want her to grasp onto her dream to the bitter end. Reminding her of the number one lesson he taught her was enough to placate her apprehension.

Achieving that dream, however, ended up a hollow victory for Serena as Clemont recalled. He and Bonnie saw past the false smile masking an individual who kept tormenting herself over the lack of closure regarding her feelings for the disappeared Pallet Town Trainer. As far as he was concerned, he only scratched the surface that concealed the depths of Serena's inner emotions.

Though she proved that she wasn't about to lose everything she learned from her journey with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie still couldn't help but worry about the choices she made after becoming Kalos Queen. She stepped down from the position for a number of reasons, one of them claiming that she was going to dedicate herself in finding Ash again and that upholding the title of Kalos Queen was empty without him by her side.

Of course, Bonnie had then offered the suggestion for her to give other guys a chance to be her king.

Big mistake.

Serena nearly refused to talk to any of them as a result for almost a week. Bonnie didn't realize how much sensitive of a topic Ash was to her now and thought she was still grieving. Clemont had to carefully settle things down in their group so that by the time they did leave on their separate ways, it would not have been on a very sour note.

In any case, she was still somewhere in the world looking for Ash, that much he was sure she was up to. She developed into a determined woman longing to reunite with the man that gave her purpose and excitement in her previously dull and average life. Clemont understood where she was coming from with all this while Bonnie was thrilled of being part of some 'romantic soap opera' as it gave her ideas for searching potential spouses for her brother, much to his aggravation.

Though the odds of running into her here in Kalos was virtually slim to none, Clemont entertained the thought that they would meet Serena again and gain her help in sending Ash−.

"Hey, Clemont, is that the Gym?"

Anabel's inquiry stirred him out of his thoughts and looked ahead towards the large building that was uniquely designed out of the rest. Ash and Pikachu looked at it in silent wonder.

"Yeah, this is it," Clemont confirmed.

He was expecting to run into Viola real soon. By extension, it was possible that her older sister and top Lumiose Press journalist, Alexa, would be visiting. This would certainly prove to be an interesting experience if those sisters were here.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone home?" Ash called out, peeking his head through the doorway entrance.

"Pika?" Pikachu mimicked.

"You can go in, Ash," Anabel reassured. "Pokémon Gyms welcome anyone who wants to challenge the Gym Leader."

"But what if some bad guy comes in and attempts to rob the place?" Ash asked.

"Gym Leaders are no pushovers, that much I can say," Anabel answered firmly. "In addition, they are also covered under the protection of the Pokémon League. If anyone was foolish enough to threaten a Gym, well, they're going to have a hard time."

"For instance, I have Clembot set up to attend to and protect the Lumiose Gym in my absence," Clemont added, grinning proudly. "In addition to him, I've built the Prism Tower's internal system myself, meaning that its every nook and cranny are secured well against threats."

"So you shouldn't worry about these things, Ash," Anabel concluded. "The Pokémon League, among other official organizations, is well aware of these details so that Trainers are free to participate without external consequences getting in the way of their progression."

"That makes sense then," Ash agreed.

The three of them wandered into a large hall decorated with photographic frames of various Bug-type Pokémon in their natural habitat. Clemont had then elaborated on the Santalune City Gym Leader's hobbies of taking what would be considered picture perfect moments of wild Pokémon. It was clear that she specialized in Bug-types alone as they appeared to be Viola's preferred photo-op.

New footsteps were heard approaching their location as Clemont finished his concise exposition of the Gym Leader. As if the timing couldn't get any better, the older young woman with sandy-blond hair that posed as the aforementioned authority figure with signature camera on hand had entered the scene.

"Clemont?" Viola greeted, surprised by his sudden visit. "What are you…?"

She didn't finish her standard inquiry as her eyes soon fell upon a familiar face that was said to have passed away in tragedy. Exhibiting the predicted responses of shock and speechlessness, she quickly took a few steps back before stumbling on her feet and landing on her bottom out of panic.

"Viola, let us explain," Clemont relieved, gingerly approaching his colleague to calm her down.

"No way!" Viola exclaimed in fright. "Th-This isn't right. Y-You're dead. You're supposed to be dead! N-Not that I wanted you dead, but still…! This isn't natural!"

"It's kind of a long story," Ash began, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't really die. I was just… misplaced in time."

"Huh?" Viola grunted, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It is as he says, Viola," a new voice intervened, walking up to them from around the corner. "I shouldn't be surprised with all the stunts he's pulled, but _this_ would definitely make one hot-off-the-press scoop."

The Santalune City Gym Leader dropped her visage of fear and glanced back at her sister with a wry grin. Of course _she_ would be more familiar with such strange phenomenon, given her profession and how thorough she was with it.

"You meet some of the most interesting people, sister," Viola remarked.

"It's certainly been a while, Clemont," Alexa resumed with an inquisitive look in her eyes. "And _you_, Ash. While it's certainly a time to rejoice seeing you alive and well, there's still the fact that you were gone from the world for five years."

"I'm guessing I helped you guys out?" Ash proposed, eliciting confused expressions from the Santalune sisters.

"He lost his memory," Anabel clarified. "You both might want to sit down and have a cup of tea because this is going to take a while."

The whole group found a couple of quaint benches to station at as the retelling of how the Pallet Town Trainer ended up here was about to begin. Viola held onto her sister, still uneasy over how someone that she perceived to be deceased was back among the living. Of course, Alexa had her own thoughts about the scenario, but didn't dwell on them as much so that she could focus on hearing about the truth.

The sharing of his present predicament was certainly becoming easier to accomplish after many opportunities to confront those that knew Ash and were demanding an explanation of his supposed death and long-term disappearance. Both Alexa and Viola were enraptured by the events in Anabel's tale, from how she found Ash to discovering the possible resurrection of Team Flare.

Viola bared a knowing look as the account went down that particular route. Clemont could tell that she was immediately reminded of the additional responsibility given to her from the Pokémon League Committee as a result of Team Flare's hazard five years ago. She certainly didn't expect the time would be now, but she had been preparing for this day.

"Well, if you want to regain your memories and return to your own time, then we'll help you out the best way we can," Alexa declared once story time was over. "Though it goes against my profession, I'll keep this under wraps so that you can move about in Kalos freely without others hounding you on how you just came out of nowhere."

"It'll also prevent Neo Team Flare from easily tracking your movements," Viola added, getting to her feet. "I probably should lead you to the guarded Life Branch, but there's one more thing I want to do."

"And that is?" Clemont inquired, to which the Santalune City Gym Leader gave a competitive smirk.

"Just like the Bug Badge, I'll only surrender the Life Branch to you if you prove yourselves worthy of it," Viola announced. "Even though you're in good graces with me and Alexa doesn't mean I'll just hand over something as powerful as the Life Branch to anyone."

"We don't have time for this," Clemont rebutted. "We need to get the Life Branch and head over to our next stop at Cyllage City before Neo Team Flare gets a leg up on us."

"Time really is of the essence here," Anabel added.

"And how can I be sure you guys are the real deal?" Viola retorted. "I know that the Kalos Gym Leaders have been preparing for this day and that the real Ash is here and all, but this is to ensure that the Life Branch does not fall into the wrong hands. Plus, you're dealing with someone who was in disbelief over Ash suddenly returning and not changing after all these years."

"My sister is a stubborn one," Alexa sighed. "It can't be helped, but you'll have to battle her to get her Life Branch."

"Then I'll battle her," Ash said, stepping in to defuse the tension between Gym Leaders.

"Ash, we're running out of time," Clemont pointed out.

"We'll make it quick, I promise," Ash assured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you'll be great," Anabel followed. "The bonds you have with your Pokémon are as strong as ever, even with your missing memories. Just don't give up."

"I won't do anything less," Ash added, flashing a dazzling smile at her.

"That frame-by-frame passion you have for your friends and your dreams is as brilliant as I remembered," Viola commented, smiling contentedly. "Shall we?"

* * *

The Santalune Gym Leader then gestured everyone to follow her into the battlefield. Seeing that there was no point in arguing further, Clemont remained silent. Anabel appeared slightly worried about the sudden turn of events. The Salon Maiden knew that a quest like this was certainly not going to be easy, and like Clemont, she would've preferred to get this issue taken cared of as soon as possible in order to remedy the past.

Of course, she was also confident that Ash was going to finish his battle with Viola as quick as he can.

"You know, Ash is very interesting," Alexa spoke up, attempting to garner Anabel's attention while they were walking to the battlefield. "I've seen him fired up many times for a good battle in the past."

"I've noticed," Anabel concurred with a slight giggle.

"I recall in his rematch with Viola that he was _really_ fired up to take her down and win the Bug Badge," Alexa continued. "And I also recall someone that used to travel with him having given him that confidence boost."

Anabel had a feeling where this conversation was leading towards. If that was truly the case, why this woman was bringing up this particular topic at a particularly inopportune time was dubious at best. But the least she could do now was to humor her and potentially learn more about Ash's previous Kalos journey.

"Did this 'someone' happen to be a girl?" Anabel probed.

"You're pretty spot-on," Alexa complimented. "I guess it would be safe for me to assume that Clemont shared a bit of his and Ash's history together in the group?"

"Only the more general fields," Anabel elucidated. "I didn't want to press any matters further than they needed to be out of respect. I have my own ideas that there's something more Clemont is not willing to make known yet. But yes, I do know about Serena and that she had special feelings for Ash."

"Getting right down to business, aren't we?" Alexa quipped lightheartedly. "Well, this is just a bit of my opinion I'm throwing out, but one of the few times I've seen Ash respond so positively was due to the influence of someone he considers close to him. At the time that he beat my sister, I deduced that it was because of Serena that he earned that victory. This time around, though I was going to say that from his history with Clemont that he's pressing forward against Viola's challenge, he sounded most enthusiastic when he talked with you."

"That's… pretty observant of you," Anabel commented, impressed by her clever deductions.

"Well, like I said, it's more on my opinion than anything else," Alexa concluded. "But if anything, I would also say that it must be Ash's way of saying that he really likes you."

Anabel became pensive in spite of the glowing blush her face started to sport as a result of the Lumiose Press journalist's words. As flattering as that sounded, some truth was held in her self-proclaimed opinion. Taking into account the ever-present oblivious and battle-loving nature that Ash has, the behaviors Alexa noted could very well be valid.

It sounded plausible to Anabel after considering what Serena originally felt for him, though for the Salon Maiden to be on the receiving end this time around did seem too good to be true. She still harbored feelings for him in spite of the great passage of time and the fact that his present state was reduced to being five years younger than her. She was entering young adulthood while he was still progressing through the adolescent stages.

This was all the more reason to send him back to his own time. While she already came into terms that he might not reciprocate her personal feelings since he left the Battle Frontier, just knowing that he was happy in his life gave her the peace and closure to move on.

Of course, Ash returning the affections would be just as fantastic.

The future is still an open door, after all.

"Hey, gang!" Viola announced. "We're here!"

The whole group glanced around the greenhouse-like area before laying their eyes upon the central battlefield. There were small Bug-type Pokémon like Scatterbug, Caterpie, and Weedle being as natural as they would in the trees that decorated the whole space.

However, there was one Pokémon taking a nap in the middle of the battlefield that did not qualify as a Bug-type. Rather, it was large and took on a somewhat draconic appearance. It also had large round ears for precise hearing.

"Sorry, guys," Alexa apologized sheepishly. "I forgot that I left my Noivern out here to give it some freedom. Poor thing must've needed a nap."

"Well, call it back so we can get our battle started," Viola requested impatiently.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that just yet, dear Gym Leader," an unknown willowy voice jested.

The group became wide alert as an intruder seemed to have gotten a drop on them. Attempting to search where the unknown voice had originated from, they only found out who was there upon catching the intruder teleporting into the center of the battlefield with a Pokémon, appearing right next to Alexa's Noivern. Their entrance caused the Sound Wave Pokémon to stir itself awake.

The intruder was a woman with short purple hair. To Ash, Anabel, and Clemont, the peculiar uniform she wore closely resembled Aliana's. However, it appeared to be a bit more lavish as she wore a poncho sweater that matched the color of her hair on top of the uniform.

The Pokémon that accompanied her was small and mimicked the typical appearance of a harlequin. Most of its body was a shade of pink, save it for the top of its head and its lower half, in which they were dark blue. However, what came off to be unnatural from this peculiar Pokémon was the theatrical mask it wore upon its face, wherein the right half of the mask was white while the other half was black.

"Who are you and how did you get inside?!" Viola demanded.

"Ah, for someone who seems so quick to temper, you sure took your sweet time getting here," the intruder mocked. "I was afraid that I was going to fall asleep like a bored Snorlax after a ten-course meal."

"Hey, I asked you a question, lady, and you better answer me now," Viola warned.

"Careful, she looks like she's from Neo Team Flare," Clemont advised.

"A keen observer like you opposing us, I shouldn't be surprised Aliana lost," the intruder continued, smirking merrily. "Come to think of it, I believe we faced off before, little man."

"Clemont, was she also from Team Flare from the past?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, she stands out from memory alright," Clemont affirmed grimly. "And if memory serves, she's Celosia. Not the best of memories, but still, I know that she's pretty dangerous."

At that moment, Alexa's Noivern stood at full height and roared loudly at the Neo Team Flare intruder into intimidating her to leave. She and her Mime Jr. remained unaffected from the show.

"You're a strong Pokémon," Celosia commented, her smirk curving wickedly on the side. "You will do."

"What are you doing?!" Alexa interrupted.

"Confuse Ray!"

Celosia's Mime Jr. leapt up into Noivern's face and tossed a dazzling gold orb of light at it. Noivern reeled back and screeched from exposure to the bright light. It thrashed about, attempting to shake off the overwhelming influence, but it proved futile as it faced the group with reopened sunken and glaring eyes.

"Sis, recall it!" Viola demanded.

"Right!" Alexa exclaimed, stumbling her hand into her side bag for Noivern's Poké Ball.

"I'm afraid I'm three steps ahead," Celosia observed, snapping her fingers.

At her command, Mime Jr. held its hands up and somehow managed to Teleport a Watchog into the battlefield. One look into the Lookout Pokémon's hollow eyes revealed that it too was under the Confuse Ray's influence. Mime Jr. then directed Watchog towards Noivern to execute Celosia's next phase of her attack.

Watchog's eyes soon gave off an eerie glow. In conjunction, its whole body exuded a sinister purple aura that reached out to Noivern, forming an image of a huge eye with black sclera, a yellow iris, and an equally black pupil upon it. The purple aura then consumed Noivern's body while the eye disappeared.

Alexa found the Poké Ball and sent the retracting red beam to recall her Pokémon. However, the beam was blocked by purple energy upon attempting to touch the Sound Wave Pokémon.

"That Watchog she brought in just used Mean Look," Anabel commented. "We got to stop her!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not the one you should be worrying about now, dear," Celosia pointed out. "This little test should do just nicely. Ciao!"

Without saying any more, she snapped her fingers and at once, her Mime Jr. used Teleport on itself and her, leaving no trace behind save it for the wild Watchog that went fleeing into the outskirts of the battlefield to harass the Gym's Bug-type Pokémon. Noivern, at the meantime, gave off several chilling roars before firing Boomburst blasts everywhere and causing minor collateral damage in the Gym.

"How are we going to stop them now?" Viola questioned. "Noivern is confused and Alexa can't call it back because of Watchog's Mean Look!"

"And with Watchog also under her control, it's just going to keep running around to avoid capture while causing as much havoc as it could under its confused state," Clemont assessed.

"I've got a plan," Ash announced, getting everyone to lend him all ears. "One of us needs to stop Noivern from causing any more damage while another one of us stops the Watchog."

"That way with Watchog knocked out, Mean Look would no longer be in effect and Alexa can safely recall it," Anabel continued. "That's a great plan, Ash."

"Except my Noivern is no pushover," Alexa cautioned. "Its Boomburst would really mess you up if you get caught in it."

"We have to stop it now before it destroys my Gym," Viola stated. "It's clear that the confusion isn't going to wear off in time. I can tell that Mime Jr. of hers is powerful despite its size."

"Pikachu and I will stop Noivern in its tracks," Ash declared, to which the Mouse Pokémon left his perch on his Trainer's shoulder and ran into the battlefield with sparking cheeks. "You guys go after the Watchdog."

"It's 'Watchog,' Ash," Anabel corrected before turning to Viola. "And I think you're our best chance at finding Watchog since you know the layout of the Gym."

"I see," Viola muttered, calling out her Vivillon. "I'll take care of it then."

"I'll go with you in stopping it," Clemont volunteered.

"I'll stay here and be ready to recall Noivern once you stop Watchog," Alexa stated.

"And I'll help Ash in stopping Noivern's rampage," Anabel finished, summoning her Espeon to her side. "We'll try not to be rough on Noivern, Alexa."

"Do what you have to, Anabel and Ash," Alexa assured decisively. "We'll accept the consequences when we get to that point."

* * *

With the plan set and the roles assigned, the group dispersed to quiet the chaos that Celosia had started within the Santalune City Gym. Viola and Clemont went off to look for Watchog while Ash, Anabel, and Alexa contended with the berserk Noivern.

Pikachu had already entered the field to distract Noivern while Espeon was placed on standby as backup. Seeing an immediate target stand before it, Noivern bellowed and flapped its wings to conjure a hefty Gust to threaten the Mouse Pokémon. Pikachu routed his tail into the ground and stayed firm.

"Pikachu, we've got to stop Noivern before it destroys this place," Ash reminded. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Instantly as the Gust settled down, Pikachu went on the offensive. The massive electrical energy he stored up easily consumed Noivern's large body. Despite the successful hit, it showed no expression of the attack being effective and instead whipped its wings out to dispel the Thunderbolt.

"Noivern is part Dragon-type so Electric-type attacks won't be as strong on it as they would on regular Flying-types," Alexa counseled.

The Sound Wave Pokémon then retaliated with a Boomburst, firing lethally concentrated sound waves all over the battlefield. Pikachu was able to evade the attack in spite of the unpredictability of Noivern's tactics.

It then flew up into the air and dove for Pikachu with open jaws, signifying its use of Bite.

Pikachu narrowly avoided Noivern's mouth by jumping to the side. He watched as it flew to the top of the battlefield, giving off another deafening roar, and conjuring a Dragon Pulse attack from its mouth. The draconic energy attack was fired onto the field and set of a powerful aftershock upon impact, throwing Pikachu off his feet.

The Mouse Pokémon attempted to land back, but soon found his body levitating as he was outlined in light blue. He saw from the corner that Espeon's eyes were illuminating with the same glow.

"Great job, Espeon!" Anabel praised, pleased that her Psychic helped minimize the damage.

"Thanks for the assist, Anabel," Ash said, giving her a thumbs-up before shifting his attention back to Noivern. "We've got this now. Iron Tail!"

Upon being freed from Psychic, Pikachu ran forward and swung his Steel-powered tail against Noivern. It managed to block the Iron Tail with a wing, but it wasn't enough for it to stand its ground against Pikachu's strength.

Stumbling on its hind legs for a moment, Noivern took to the air once more to recover. It went one more level higher before diving down for another Bite attempt.

"Here it comes!" Alexa signaled.

"Pikachu, jump on Noivern's back!" Ash commanded.

Knowing how to handle this tactic better, Pikachu jumped up high right as Noivern struck. He then dove down quickly to grab Noivern's long tail as it attempted to retreat into the air after the missed Bite. In spite of the erratic flight patterns and attempts to fling Pikachu off, Noivern failed to rid itself of the troublesome Mouse Pokémon.

"Do it, Ash!" Alexa demanded.

"Thunderbolt!"

By being in direct contact with Noivern's body, the Electric attack had a bit more of an impact in weakening the Sound Wave Pokémon. Noivern's flaying was slowing down. It was tiring itself out. But in an instinctive attempt to preserve itself, Noivern dove towards the field once more and swung its tail down while Pikachu was still hanging on.

_*BAM*_

The harsh collision caused him to let go and tumble while Noivern flew away. All of these hard hits have managed to push Pikachu into his limit as he struggled to get back on all fours. Noivern landed to the opposing side of the field and prepared to finish this off with a Dragon Pulse.

"Come on, return!" Alexa pleaded, activating the Poké Ball's beam again.

The Mean Look's eerie energy emerged on the anticipated part that the beam was going to touch, causing it to bounce off of Noivern once again. Alexa huffed in frustration before lowering her arm. Based from this event, it would seem that Viola and Clemont were still unsuccessful in catching the caster.

"Espeon, get ready to jump in," Anabel commanded, but Ash held an arm up in front of her, much to her concern. "Ash?"

"We're not done yet," Ash proclaimed mulishly.

"Pikachu is worn down, so let us start fresh so we can stop Noivern," Anabel advised.

"We'll stop Noivern before it can stop us," Ash continued. "We won't let it destroy the Gym. But we'll also make sure to save it."

Sensing his determination, Pikachu felt an internal boost of stamina despite being on his last legs. He was able to get back on all fours, much to Alexa's and Anabel's surprise. Like Trainer, like Pokémon, Pikachu prepared himself once Noivern was about to attack.

Noivern's eyes widened.

The Dragon Pulse crackling in its opened jaws reached full potential.

It fired posthaste.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

The Mouse Pokémon disappeared on sight, using his speed boost to dart around the battlefield to confound Noivern before tackling the Sound Wave Pokémon up from under its jaw. Pikachu was now overhead while Noivern staggered from the critical hit.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled; the moment was now.

"Iron Tail!"

Their synchronous efforts rewarded them with an instant Iron Tail that struck Noivern hard on the head, effectively toppling it over and ending its confused rampage. The mood in the area was settling down.

Anabel noticed Viola and Clemont returning to them with Vivillon perched on Viola's shoulder and Clemont having his Luxray carrying a worn-out Watchog on his back. Seeing that the culprit was taken care of, Alexa held up her Poké Ball again and this time successfully recalled her exhausted Noivern.

"Sorry it took so long," Viola apologized. "That little bugger was hard to keep in one place."

"Thanks to Luxray's x-ray vision, we were able to isolate Watchog from its hiding spot," Clemont explained.

"Those excellent lenses of his made it a picture perfect victory for us," Viola reaffirmed.

"We also subdued Noivern," Ash mentioned. "I hope the damages in the Gym aren't too bad."

Viola assessed the grounds and ceiling with a neutral look. Parts of the ceiling frame and some of the light fixtures were damaged from Noivern's rage, but other than that, there was nothing too extensive that couldn't be covered by the Pokémon League insurance.

"Nah, I've actually had worse," Viola brushed off. "I've had some pretty intense battles that were definitely photographic worthy, yours having been one of them, Ash."

"Oh, yeah, do you still want to have that battle?" Ash asked upon remembering Viola's previous proposal.

"I think I'll make an exception this time," Viola answered sincerely, much to the group's delight. "You being able to stop my sister's Noivern and saving my Gym definitely proves you worthy of having the Life Branch."

"You really are a softie, aren't you?" Alexa teased.

"Hey, it's important for Ash and his friends to stop Neo Team Flare as soon as possible so stuff like this don't keep happening," Viola retorted playfully. "Besides, I've got to make sure the Bug Pokémon here are okay."

"Spoken like a Gym Leader," Clemont commented proudly.

"Of course, I'll be happy to accept your challenge any time you decide to come back around," Viola offered.

"I'll try to remember that," Ash quipped.

"You did remember her previous condition of beating her in a battle to get the Life Branch," Anabel added brightly. "If anything, once you do remember something, you remember it for life."

"I suppose that's a good thing then," Ash replied.

With spirits bright and the recent obstacle passed, Viola remained true to her word and guided Ash and his friends into a protected room where the second Life Branch of Xerneas waited. Ash was the one who approached the magical artifact.

By holding out a hand and coming into range of its life-giving aura, more memories that were locked by Yveltal's destructive influence were freed. This time, Ash remembered the momentous first day of his Pokémon journey, from waking up late, obtaining a rebellious Pikachu, stealing a bike from a temperamental red-haired girl in order to escape an enraged flock of Spearow, gaining the trust of Pikachu, and witnessing a mystical Pokémon fly away over the rainbow.

A few more memories tied into his early beginnings opened up, such as the identities of his first friends and all of the people he met from his first travel though the Kanto region.

_Misty… Brock… I remember you guys now,_ Ash announced in his mind. _The day since I met Pikachu… Was he really that disobedient back then? And was I really that much of a lazy brat that relied on luck back then too?_

"What's going on with Ash?" Alexa inquired, noticing the trance he appeared to be in from holding Viola's guarded Life Branch.

"He's getting back more of his early memories," Clemont explained.

"Amazing," Viola remarked.

"We're one more step closer now," Anabel concluded, fondly watching Ash as he relaxed from his trance.

"Guys, we've got to catch'em all!" Ash declared, raising a fist to the air.

"Yeah!" Anabel and Clemont followed.

"Pii Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

* * *

_**You Got a Life Branch!**_

* * *

_**End of Chapter!**_

* * *

**And that finally ends the first chapter of this tale. I haven't received too many complaints about this style, so I would assume that you've been content with all of this so far. It also amuses me on your guesses on who Neo Team Flare's new Leader is. Well, all I can say is that if you're sure about the identity and you know the storyline from **_**Super Paper Mario**_**, then we'll just have to wait for the final chapters to come.**

**Sadly, I wish I could be quicker to update, but I have one more semester in college to finish before finally graduating. Also, most of my time spent in the holidays has been dedicated to family and **_**Xenoblade Chronicles X**_**. I never had much of an interest in sci-fi genre video games, but this one is just so addicting.**

**Anyway, as for future plans here, I do plan of including Ash-Greninja in addition to Mega Sceptile since the latter had been planned prior to the former making its debut in the main anime. But of course, this story started when Ash's Greninja was still a Frogadier, so it'll take some time for him to evolve and possibly later in the story, maybe sometime after Ash finds a Sceptilite Mega Stone and Mega Evolves his Sceptile, for Greninja to discover his hidden powers.**

**After all, it's been years since they've been together, so of course they'll need to rebuild their bond in order to tap into that power (At least, that's how I understand how it works so far).**

**And to explain Celosia's Mime Jr. using Teleport when it can't legally learn it here, well, I based it off of the logic from Gen. I when Teleport was an available TM in which Mr. Mime, Mime Jr.'s evolved form, can still learn it. And originally, her signature Pokémon here was going to be Abra, but I ultimately chose Mime Jr. as the Pokemon to represent the character she's been based off of for this story (Is it obvious?).**

**Please review!**

**L-ater! **

**And Merry Christmas 2015!**


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